


There Be Dragons

by Signe_chan



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: AU: fantasy, Multi, There's a dragon, i don't know what i was thinking, kind of a fairytale world
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-20
Updated: 2014-05-20
Packaged: 2018-01-25 21:32:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 23,196
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1663190
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Signe_chan/pseuds/Signe_chan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When the Lady Simmons is carried away be a dragon on the way to visit her Uncle Phil, Lord Fitz and Sir Ward set out on a quest to find her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. In which the lady makes a journey

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Art: There Be Dragons Cover](https://archiveofourown.org/works/1660991) by [Zephre (zephrene)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/zephrene/pseuds/Zephre). 



> Written for AOS big bang 2014. 
> 
> Wonderful accompanying art by Zephre can by found here - http://archiveofourown.org/works/1660991

"I just don't like this, is all," Leo said, fiddling with the hem of his shirt. He always got nervous when he had to meet Jemma in her sitting room instead of her laboratory. He'd been put out when he'd arrived at her manor only to be told she'd receive him in her sitting room. She never received him in her sitting room.

"Well, it's not like I have much choice, Leo," Jemma said with a little shrug. "He's my Uncle and he's missing, I need to go and find out what happened. I'm sure it'll all be sorted out before you know it and I'll be back here running those titrations with you. Or you could run them while I'm gone and we could have the data to analyse when I get back. We're really getting quite close to a breakthrough, I think..."

"Why can't you send someone else?" Leo interrupted. He knew if he let Jemma get onto the topic of their experiments he'd never get her attention back. "You have servants."

"Oh Leo, you know this isn't a job for a servant," she sighed, reaching over to awkwardly pat his hand. "I've got responsibilities now, since Father passed on too. I'm the Lady of the manor and Uncle Phil has always been so kind to me. You know he intends to leave me his estate when he dies and, well, I don't actually want it, as it's almost a kingdom really and it'll be a lot of work to maintain, but it's the thought that counts. There really is nobody else and his advisor makes it sound important."

"I just don't like it," Leo grumbled again. He knew he was being ridiculous. Lord Coulson was the only living family Jemma had left - of course she was going to go and see why he'd disappeared. He just couldn't help feeling abandoned. She was his best friend, after all.

"Look, if it helps I'm taking a knight with me, so I'll be protected."

"Not Sir Ward," Leo groaned, sinking further into his chair. He hated Sir Ward with nothing short of a passion. He was self-aware enough to realise that his hate was mostly born of jealousy. Ward was everything a man should be - everything Leo felt himself fail in. As a third son he didn't even have anything to offer by way of a future. Compare that to Ward who, while a knight, was brave and competent and...

Leo just kind of hated him, alright. That was all.

"You know he's a good man," Jemma said, shifting impatiently. "Look, Leo, I know this is a shock for you but I really have to go, and I really have to pack if I'm going. So, well, thank you for the visit but..."

"You're throwing me out?"

"No," Jemma protested. "Not...not out! Just away from this room. You can go to the lab without me."

"I don't want to," Leo grumbled, finally releasing his shirt hem to cross his arms. He knew he looked like a petulant child but he felt a little like that too. Jemma wasn't meant to go off on adventures and leave him alone! Jemma was meant to be his person.

Maybe the problem was just that he knew this was the beginning of the end. She said she liked it here but when she saw Lord Coulson's land, his house, his way of life, well, it'd make everything here seem small. She'd always been the one who wanted to go on adventures while he'd been happy to stay home. He'd hoped that, well, that she'd never get the chance and eventually they'd marry to please their parents and he'd never have to try. Now, now everything was going to be ruined.

"Well, I really don't have time for this right now, Leo," she said, standing and moving to the door. "You can stay here and sulk all day if you really like but I have to pack."

With that, she was gone.

***

Honestly, although she wished it was under better circumstances, Jemma was almost glad to be out on the road. She'd always wanted to get out there, sometimes she felt like the only person in the world with a sense of adventure. It wasn't like Leo hadn't grown up hearing great adventure stories right beside her, she didn't know why they only seemed to bring him fear. They made her want to run outside and go looking for her own adventure to share.

The problem of being the only child of a man of means and title was that she didn't get to have adventures. Maybe it would have been different if she'd had a sibling, definitely if it had been a brother, but being the only child made her the heir, and that made her an item to protect.

It hadn't been so bad until Uncle Phil named her as his heir, too. Her dad had been important but Uncle Phil...she'd almost been afraid to visit him when she was younger because his house was so big she'd worried she might get lost. Mother always loved to see him, of course. Father had been more reluctant, though looking back she understood why. The poorer husband compared to the rich older brother.

Father had been against her being Uncle Phil's heir, but mother had convinced him like she always did. Nobody had asked her. She'd never thought, it had all seemed to far away and then her parents had died.

It had been a tragedy. Not even a dramatic tragedy, just a normal, mundane tragedy. An illness that had taken her mother then, months later, her father. She'd almost expected to catch it too but she never did. It had hurt too much to think about at the time but now, years later, well, it still hurt. But she could endure.

She'd become very good at enduring.

They left her mansion early in the morning. They travelled light, just her and her knight. She'd told everyone they could go faster like this, that it was urgent, but the fact of it was she didn't want the fuss. It had taken her family an absolute age to get anywhere and it wasn't like she was going anywhere special. She was going to Uncle Phil's.

They rode through the day, stopping only briefly to eat a lunch the cook had packed carefully for them. Ward didn't say much to her. He never said much to her. She wasn't sure if he just didn't know how to speak to a lady or if there was something particular about her that bothered him. He was awfully pretty to look at, though. He was all...firm. She'd been trying to think of a way to lure him into her lab to get physical readings from him but Leo didn't seem to like him and she didn't want to make him uncomfortable. He'd been the only one to stay at her side through everything, after all. When all the other mourners had left, Fitz was still there.

She just wished Fitz was a little more adventurous. Then she'd not have any problems. Well, other than her missing Uncle.

She'd just about had enough of the silent riding and the weird glances Sir Ward kept throwing her like he wanted to say something but wasn't sure what. They were about an hour out from her Uncle's home and night was just beginning to fall as she called a stop to their travels. They would have this out right now. She turned to Ward, trying to force her determination to override her nervousness. Ward sat there like, still silent, eyebrow raised in chalenge.

She opened her mouth to...to shout at him or demand something or, well, anything to get him to talk.

And that's when the dragon swooped out of the sky and carried her off.

***

Morning light was already beginning to spill over the land when Grant finally banged on the door of the Simmons family mansion. He'd been riding non-stop through the night and he was sore and tired but he knew he had a way to go yet.

He'd been a knight for a long time. He'd started his education when he was only nine and he was accomplished in many of the arts a knight might need. He'd been tested in battle many times and had won great honour. He really hadn't expected this job to be hard. In truth, he'd only taken it as he knew Lord Coulson to be a good and just man and he'd seemed desperate that his niece should have the best protection available to her.

He'd been right about the job being easy. He'd been bored out of his mind, going out into town and picking fights with petty criminals before delivering them to the law to give himself something, at least, to do. And then a dragon...

He knew about dragons, of course he did. His master had trained him in all of the known magical creatures and the ways to fight them, but there was a difference between seeing the great lizards in books and having one swoop seemingly from nowhere and lift the Lady clean from her horse. He hadn't even had time to draw his sword, it'd been gone just like that.

A real dragon, and he'd not even had the chance to fight it. Killing a dragon would be a real act of goodness. He'd not only save the Lady Simmons but also save all the peasants who were no doubt being terrorised by this horrible beast. And then, maybe, it would finally start to feel like enough.

He wasn't idiot enough to go chasing after a dragon without supplies, though, which was why he found himself back at the manor in the early morning light.

The door was opened by the butler, a stuffy and overbearing man as many butlers were. He looked in disdain as Ward pushed past him over the threshold with his muddy boots.

"Wake the house," he said, kicking the door shut behind himself, horse forgotten. "This is an emergency. The Lady Simmons has been taken by a dragon."

"Jemma's been taken by a dragon?"

Ward looked up with a start to find the youngest son of Lord Fitz stood on the balcony in his nightclothes. He hadn't expected to find the younger man here. Not in such an informal manner. He was never quite sure what to make of him and his relationship with the Lady Simmons. Unconventional, to say the least.

"Yes," he said, straightening his spine a little. "Last night, a little way from her Uncle's home. It dropped out of the sky and was away with her before I could even draw my sword."

"And you didn't go on to Lord Coulson because?" the butler said, letting the sentiment hang in the air. Ward frowned. Maybe it didn't make sense, but something about this entire situation was off. He knew Lord Coulson, had ridden beside him through danger. He wouldn't disappear so easy and he'd never trusted Lord Loki. The second son to Lord Odin and desperate for a kingdom, it had seemed strange that he'd agreed to advise Lord Coulson. It just hadn't felt safe to go there though he doubted he could explain that instinct to a man like this.

"Never mind that," Fitz said, already starting down the stairs. "Tell me about the dragon. How big was it? What kind? We need to prepare properly to fight it."

"We?" Grant asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Of course," Lord Fitz said, offended. "Jemma's my oldest friend, you think I'm going to let her be carried into the night by a dragon? I can help."

"I'm not saying you can't," Grant said, doubting the validity of that. "I just don't think Lady Simmons would want you to endanger yourself too."

"Like it matters," Lord Fitz scoffed, off the stairs now and looking determined. "I'm a third son, nobody's going to mind, and Jemma wouldn't want me sitting here and hiding. I know things, things about science. I can create explosives! Mixtures! I can be of use to you!"

"Fine," Grant said with a sigh. The man looked determined and though he might not be of any help he'd become a hindrance if he tried to force his way. Grant knew that with Simmons gone, Fitz was considered the de-facto master of the house, so he should agree with him. "It was...large. I couldn't begin to estimate its size but it lifted Lady Simmons easily in one foot. It was black, appeared to be a European type with wings like a bat and a soft scaly underbelly."

Fitz paled a little at the description but the set of his shoulder only seemed to grow more determined. Ward was, apparently, stuck with him.

"Alright...alright. I'll get some things from the lab and, well, some clothes. You arrange for, I don't know, food? What will we need? I don't care, you sort it out. We'll ride as soon as we're ready."

"Excellent plan," Grant agreed. He could make the proper preparations and Fitz would stay out of the way, he liked it. "Just remember to make haste. We don't know what danger the Lady is in."

"I know that," Fitz said with a determined nod of his head. "So come on, there's no time to lose."


	2. In which two gentlemen set out to slay a dragon

They'd only been moving for half an hour and Fitz already hated this adventure. It was a stupid idea, he should have stayed safely back in the castle and let Sir Ward do the rescuing. He was the rescue guy after all. With his strong arms and his shoulders and his way around a sword. Fitz wasn't that guy...

But this was Jemma. He couldn't let Ward go after Jemma alone, he just couldn't. If there was something he could do then he had to do it, no matter how much he hated adventuring.

"Do you even know where we're going?" he asked Sir Ward's turned back. The guy had made it pretty clear he considered Leo a liability on this little jaunt of theirs. Alright, maybe he didn't want to be here and he'd never exactly done something like this before, but that didn't mean he couldn't help.

He wasn't useless. He'd better not be useless, anyway, or they were all going to be in trouble.

"Yes," Ward said, not looking back. He didn't offer anything else and Leo just sighed.

"So, alright Mr Knight, how do you know that? I mean, if this thing carried Jemma off last night they could be anywhere by now."

"There aren't many places that can house something as big as a dragon," Ward said with a shrug, like it was blatantly obvious. "There's a mountain range to the east of Sir Coulson's land but the dragon flew northwest when it took her, so I'm guessing it's the range in that direction we need to aim for."

"I guess that makes sense," Fitz admitted with a grumble. "Is it far? I mean, are we going to get there and find Jemma's already been eaten?"

"I can't guarantee anything," Ward said with a weird tensing of his jaw that made Leo's stomach drop. He knew intellectually that it was possible the dragon had already eaten Jemma. It probably hadn't taken her so she could bake Cherries Jubilee for it, after all. Still, he didn't really want to entertain the possibility right now. Jemma couldn't be dead, he'd know somehow. He'd seen her nearly every day for his entire life, he'd know if she died.

He knew how much rubbish that was but he clung on to it anyway. Any reassurance was better than none.

"I know," he said for Ward's benefit, though he didn't want to admit it. "I'm just...how long will it take to get there?"

"It depends on how we travel," Ward said with a shrug. "If we set a good pace we'll hit Lord Stark's land in the early afternoon. We're only passing through the northeastern-most corner of his territory so I'm hoping we reach a border town by sundown and we can put into an inn. Then tomorrow we try to get through the forest."

"THE forest?" Fitz asked. "Doesn't it have a name?"

"It doesn't need one," Ward said. "Anyone who travels in those parts knows it. It's kind of renowned for magical activity. We should be safe enough, but you can never be sure. It's not a place you'd like to be caught in at night, anyway. We'll emerge from there to the foothills of the mountain range and, well, we'll see from there."

"Alright," Leo said, settling back onto his horse with a sigh. He hadn't realised quite how close to Jemma's home Lord Stark's land lay. He knew her claim was small, just a handful of towns and the clusters of villages and homesteads. Lord Coulson's claim was easily twenty times what hers was but Lord Stark, he knew, put them all to shame. He was the Lord of a mass of land rivalled only by Odin in the far north. And he was a good man. Fitz remembered visiting his home on occasion as a child and being fascinated by the machines he kept there. He'd like to go back now as an adult, but it was always his oldest brother who took those duties, ready for leading their people.

They'd be safe in Lord Stark's land, at least. Which meant he didn't really need to worry until they hit the forest.

He was starting to wonder what, exactly, he'd signed himself up for here. Still, for Jemma, he'd get through this.

***

Grant had been on the back of a horse for the better part of a day and a half now and he was feeling it. At one time he'd have been able to do this easily, it appeared the life of a private bodyguard was making him soft in places. He ached horribly and he could have wept for joy when he saw the town of Addlebrook down the path.

Of course, he didn't let any of that show. He'd received plenty of training in suffering through the worst conditions with a smile on his face, this certainly wasn't going to break him. Not when Fitz was watching.

Alright, if he'd been riding alone he might have let himself feel it a little by now. He might have taken a break. Might have betrayed some of the tiredness he felt in the slope of his shoulder or the set of his face. He couldn't do that right now. Not with Fitz watching his every move, and he didn't doubt for a second that the boy was watching.

He knew he was being ridiculous, he knew Fitz must want to stop by now too, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. He'd expected Fitz to whine and complain and act the spoilt brat he'd imagined him to be from their interactions but Fitz hadn't done any of that. He'd borne it. Admittedly not with the stoicism Grant managed, but he'd kept his mouth shut and his hands on the reins which was more than Grant'd expected.

He hated to admit it but it was possible he'd misjudged Fitz a little. Not much, maybe just a little. He still shouldn't be on this mission but, well, maybe he wasn't a complete waste of space.

It took Fitz longer to spot the approaching town and when he did he let out a sigh of relief, slumping in his saddle.

"Dear god, please tell me we're stopping here," he groaned. "I think I lost feeling in my legs hours ago."

"We're stopping here," Grant confirmed. "This is the last settlement on this road before the forest and we won't go in there at night."

"I'm glad," Fitz groaned, shifting in his saddle. "I'd kind of expected this adventuring lark to be more about danger and excitement and less about aching legs."

"Oh, there's danger and excitement too," Ward said, flippantly. "Though normally it's mostly aches and pains."

"You went on a lot of campaigns before you worked for the Simmons', did you?" Fitz asked, riding a little closer. It seemed now they'd started talking Fitz intended to keep them at it. Grant would just as much like to ride in peace, but he didn't want to offend the young man.

"My share," he said. Fitz grunted, apparently accepting that.

"I bet Jemma pestered you about them all the time. She was always the adventurous one. Wanted to go out and experience the world, you know. I bet you told her all about your adventures."

There was a note of jealousy in there that Grant didn't quite understand. What on earth did Fitz have to be jealous of if he didn't want to go on adventures himself?

"She asked a few times," he said, shifting. "I didn't tell her much. It's not becoming to talk about that kind of thing with a lady."

"Oh, I bet Jemma hated that," Fitz said with glee. "She hates being treated like a Lady and not a person."

"I didn't tell her it was because she was a Lady," Grant said, glaring over at his shoulder at Fitz who was positively beaming at him. "I thought she was just being polite, really. A lot of people ask about my campaigns but don't really want to hear and I don't make a habit of talking about them."

"Well," Fitz said, some of the glee gone from his face. "When we find Jemma, if she asks again, she really does want to know. If she'd been a second child nothing would have kept her from heading out into the world to explore. The only reason she hasn't already is that she's got people who depend on her and she won't let them down."

"She's a good person," Grant agreed, because she was. She worked hard and he'd seen how much she disliked managing the estate. He'd always wondered why she didn't just marry Fitz and let him do it. He'd presumed it was that Fitz was too immature, he wasn't sure now. He'd thought he understood their relationship but he was beginning to suspect it wasn't what he thought it was.

"She's the best," Fitz agreed. "That's why we're going to get her back."

Ward didn't bother pointing out that all they could do was try. He knew Fitz needed to believe and, besides, if they couldn't save Jemma then they could certainly avenge her.

***

Leo ached like he'd never ached in his life and was beginning to wish he'd spent more time out riding with his brothers and less time in the lab, like his father had always wanted. Well, he didn't really wish that. He just wished he had the kind of body that could do this without feeling like he was going to die, without having to expend the effort to get that body.

He knew he was being ridiculous and not making much sense. It'd been a long day.

A long enough day that, when they finally got to the inn, he just sat back and let Ward handle things. It wasn't like he really understood anything about booking a room in an inn anyway. He might have argued and tried to do it anyway but he didn't think there was a bit of him that didn't ache so he went to see their horses settled and let Ward do the talking.

He came back to Ward waiting for him by the door looking damn annoyed.

"What's wrong?" he asked, glancing around. The inn looked fine. Not too much like the inns he normally stayed in when travelling but he guessed you didn't get too many high class travelers out here on the edge of the forest that didn't even need a name it was so scary.

He wondered if his brothers have ever ridden up here for fun. Probably. They were idiots.

"There's only one room left in the inn," Ward said. He looked damn tired and Fitz couldn't help but remember the guy'd been riding all through the last night. "Don't worry, you can take it. The landlord says I can sleep down here once the crowd's cleared out. It shouldn't be too late.

Fitz snorted at that. He knew from experience that inns never cleared out until late at night. The local drunks never seemed to want to go home.

"Look," he said. "You take the room. You've been riding longer than me and you need to be in top shape if you're going to be any use to Jemma."

Ward looked surprised for a second, like he's seriously not expected Leo to argue with him about this. Like that was even an option. He'd like to imagine that he could ride through the forest and over some mountains and defeat a dragon on his own but the truth of it was he knew he couldn't. He needed Ward for this and he owed it to Jemma to not let his ego get in the way.

"I can't take a room while you sleep down here," Ward said, stiff and formal. "You're nobility, I'm just a knight."

"What does that matter?" Leo said with a shrug. "If we're going to stand a chance of getting Jemma back we're going to have to work together. You need the rest more than I do."

"I already told the landlord you're nobility," Ward said, shaking his head. "He'll think something's wrong if we change our plans now. Just take the room."

"Look," Leo said, thinking. He was a genius but he didn't need to be to see the obvious solution here. "We share the room, alright? That way both of us get to sleep and nobody has to spend all night in the bar. Just tell the landlord we've travelled a long way so I'm going to allow it, he won't care."

Ward looked stunned for a second, like it wasn't the most logical solution. Then he nodded, not arguing this time but turning to go back into the inn and talk to the landlord. Fitz waited patiently until both men came back, the landlord looking suspiciously between them, and he was finally led to a room.

The room was basic, though a little more spacious than Leo had expected. There was a table, two chairs, and a bed that would accommodate the two of them and he supposed that was all he needed.

"Here you are, Sir," the landlord said, gesturing around the place with a proud grin like it was a palace he was showing of. "I'll have my wife bring you both some food."

"Thank you," Leo said quickly. He hadn't realise how hungry he was until the landlord mentioned food and suddenly he felt ravenous. Understandable, they hadn't stopped all day.

The landlord backed out quickly then and they spent a few minutes negotiating sides of the bed before the food appeared, a rich stew that they both ate in silence, focusing only on filling the holes in their stomach for now.

Once the plates were clear it didn't take much negotiation to decide to go straight to bed. Leo had noticed the way Ward was holding himself, not quite as unaffected by their day's ride as he'd have liked him to believe. It was strange crawling into bed next to someone new but he'd shared with his brothers often enough on visits and hunting trips before he'd been excused from them that it wasn't awkward. Not for him anyway.

He watched as Ward, who had insisted on taking the outside, locked the door and turned out the light then climbed into the bed. It wasn't quite wide enough for this but they'd manage.

"Can I ask you something?" Leo said, looking at Ward's profile. He knew he should sleep but somehow the darkness had made it easier to ask.

"If you must," Ward said. He sounded groggy so Leo decided to keep this short.

"Are you in love with Jemma?"

"With Lady Simmons?" Ward asked, his voice questioning. "Not particularly. I mean, I haven't spent time with her particularly. I had presumed until the servants gossip reached me that she was engaged to you."

"Why would she be engaged to me?" Leo asked. "I mean, I know we're good friends and I definitely would but she wouldn't be interested in that kind of thing with me. I'm...I guess I'm kind of a safe option. We could have a pretty peaceful life. Work in the lab, find out about the world around us...but I could never give her an adventure. I can't even give her money or a title."

"I don't think she needs those things," Ward said with a shrug that Leo felt through the thin mattress. "Well, maybe some would be nice but I think marriage is best when it's based on companionship. All the best ones I've seen aren't about what people can give each other but what they can be together. So what if you can't give her adventure, maybe the two of you can make adventures together."

"I'm not sure I even know how to make adventures," Leo said, rolling over so he didn't have to look at Ward.

"Then let the Lady make the adventures and be there for her to come back to when they're done. Though for the record you're doing quite well on this adventure so far."

"That's because all we've done is ride," Leo protested. Ward didn't answer that and he let the conversation drop too. Maybe Ward was right. Maybe he did have things to offer Jemma. He hoped he did. He had this horrible suspicion that he was in love with her and he was beginning to think that maybe he wasn't so much of a coward that he'd be content to love her from afar and never touch her.

***

Grant woke up with a head pillowed on his shoulder and an arm slung over him and it'd been a long time since that happened. He wasn't groggy enough to let himself imagine he was anywhere but where he was. He'd always been fast to wake and Fitz's curls were tickling his chin.

It was almost pleasant lying there and he was tempted to stay still for a few more minutes. After all, he wasn't the one who'd put them in this position. It wasn't something he indulged in often but he was human and he did enjoy the warmth of another body pressed next to his, even if the touch was innocent. Even if the touch came from a man. Sometimes when on a quest there wouldn't have been a woman for months and he knew a knight was meant to be chaste but if an opportunity presented itself...

But he shouldn't. If their strange conversation last night had made anything clear to him it was that both Fitz and the Lady Simmons were closed options to him. It wasn't so much of a loss, he'd never really considered either of them attainable in any meaningful way, and he was done with relationships which had no meaning.

As carefully as he could, he slid out from under Fitz and started to set himself right for the day. The other man began to stir, of course, but that was probably for the best. They had a lot of ground to make today if they wanted to be through the forest.


	3. Adventures in The Forest

Fitz had to admit he'd had expectations about The Forest after his talk with Ward. He'd kind of expected, you know, creepy stuff. Like, dark trees looming over the path and mist curling along the ground and dead silence and a sense of oppression in the air. Creepy stuff.

The Forest hadn't delivered. In fact, by midday when they stopped to eat he'd almost given up on being scared of the place. It was, after all, just a load of trees. Not even really spooky trees, the kind of standard trees he and Jemma used to climb when they were kids. It was as well lit as a forest ever got. There were the normal forest noises. There was nothing to be scared of.

It was almost an anticlimax. Not that he was complaining. He didn't mind boring. Boring was good. It just wasn't what he'd expected.

Ward seemed more relaxed today which was kind of odd since they were getting closer to the part where they had to fight a dragon. Leo was definitely not feeling more relaxed. Fighting a dragon had seemed like something he could do in theory when he was thinking about it before they set out. Now he was kind of worried. Still, Ward being more relaxed meant they stopped for lunch so he didn't mind.

They still had the bread and cheese and meats the landlord at the ill had supplied them with. He hadn't made much comment on their going through the forest but then he probably saw a lot of people of that way and if a lot of people went that way it couldn't be so bad, right?

Right?

They found what to all appearances was a regular clearing which the path ran through to stop in for their lunch. Leo couldn't keep himself from commenting on it as he dismounted.

"You know, I don't think this forest is living up to its reputation."

"Why, did you expect to be eaten by an ogre by now?" Ward asked, unpacking their supplies from his side bag. Leo rolled his eyes but he went over to help.

"I'd just been expecting an atmosphere, you know. A sense of foreboding in the air or something. It seems mostly like a normal forest to me, I've got to admit."

"The forest isn't the problem," Ward said. "It's the things that live in it. We'd better eat quickly. I don't want to hang around too long. I wouldn't have stopped at all but we need to keep up our strength out here. Fighting on an empty stomach is much harder."

"I'm not going to argue," Leo said, helping himself to a chunk of bread. He wasn't quite sure what Ward expected to happen, he was a little bit paranoid if you wanted Leo's real opinion. Sure, they were in a place with a reputation but nothing bad had happened to them yet and they were making good time. They just had to stay on the path.

That was when they heard the cry for help.

Leo didn't even really register it before Ward had his sword out and was running into the forest like the knight he was. It had sounded high pitched and desperate, like a lost little girl. Ward would probably scare the little thing half to death crashing through like that. He took a second to stow the bread and unsheath his hunting knife and followed at what he hoped was a much more sedate and less threatening pace.

It didn't take him long to find where Ward had come to a stop under a great oak tree. He was looking around suspiciously, sword still raised in front of him.

"Did you find her?" Leo asked, though he obviously hadn't. Ward just rolled his eyes and continued to scan the area. Leo let his knife drop a little, it wasn't like he was particularly good with it anyway, and looked around too. More perfectly normal forest, only maybe it was a bit quieter here. Now he thought about it, he couldn't exactly hear birdsong any more.

If it hadn't been so quiet he probably wouldn't have heard the rustling in the bushes behind them. He glanced at Ward before heading over, hunting knife held up again. The bush gave another rustle as he drew nearer and he reached his hand out to part the leaves.

A hand grabbed his collar, yanking him backwards and he had enough time to yell 'hey!' before the bush exploded to life. The thing that burst out of it looked like a shrivelled person, someone who'd been dried out in the sun for too long. Its skin was tight and grey and its eyes were huge. It wasn't too tall, though it was hard to judge, but the teeth in its head looked lethal and Fitz's cry of indignation turned into a scream.

He didn't have time to think as Ward pulled him around and sent him running, a firm hand on his back as the two of them crashed through the undergrowth together. He didn't look where he was going other than to check he wasn't going to stumble, he just kept his head down and ran, conscious of the hiss of the monster just behind him.

The forest seemed almost to close in on them as they ran and, yeah, he really wasn’t cut out for this because it wasn’t long until his arms and legs felt like lead weights and his lungs were burning as he forced himself forward. He’d probably have given up if Ward hadn’t been physically pushing him on but he could still hear the thing closing on them. 

“We need to fight it,” he gasped, clutching at his knife. Sure, it looked pretty deadly but there were two of them. 

“I’ve fought these things before,” Ward said, sounding much better than Leo. “Their bite is poisonous. If it gets its jaws around you then you’re as good as dead.” 

“We need to do something,” Leo insisted. “I can’t run much longer.” 

Ward grunted at that, like an acknowledgement of information received, and the next minute Leo felt himself thrown off the path. He let out a yell as his own momentum and the force of Ward’s push sent him stumbling sideways and the trees branches felt like evil little fingers scratching him as he fell. 

It took him a few seconds in the underbrush to regain his footing and reassure himself of his grip on the knife and then he shoved up again and back towards Ward. 

Whatever Ward’s plan was, it didn’t seem to have worked, which was kind of a revelation to Leo. He’d thought Ward would be the guy whose plan always worked. Instead, Ward was knocked on his back, his sword lying between the thing and Leo. Ward had the creature by the throat at least and was holding it at arm's length, but it was easy to see he was going to need some help with that soon. 

Leo closed his eyes. It was like killing a rabbit for food on a camping trip, he could do this. 

Either he was stealthier than he thought or Ward had a pretty good grip on the creature because it didn’t react to him until he stuck his hunting knife in it. He went for the heart, which was kind of a challenge from behind, and the creature gave a howl of pain that sounded too much like a small girl sobbing for him to be comfortable with it. He pulled his knife out and reached around, using the creature’s distraction to get his knife into its neck. 

Leo really didn’t make a habit of killing things and there were a lot of reasons for that but one of the main ones was it was bloody hard. When he read novels the noble knight would stick his sword in the dragon and the dragon would obligingly roll over and that’d be the end, but real life didn’t function like that. The creature didn’t pass cleanly, it passed in a spurt of blood over Ward. It passed thrashing on the ground where Ward had thrown it, clutching with weakening limbs and gasping as it downed in its own blood. 

Fitz wanted to be anywhere else in the world but he couldn’t look away. Not when he’d caused this. This was his fault. 

He must have looked as terrible as he felt because after a few seconds a hand came around to cover his eyes, turning his head away and he found Ward’s shoulder there and he normally wouldn't hide in another man’s arms but he was just having a little trouble coping at the moment because he’d killed something. Something was dying right now and it was his fault and he knew it would have killed them but still some sick string of guilt was twisting in his throat. 

Eventually he managed to convince his limbs to stop shaking. If anyone else was watching he’d have been ashamed of the way he was still clinging to Ward like Ward was going to protect him from the thrashing dead body of the creature he’d killed. Still it was kind of a challenge to let go, even though the thing had stopped making noise by now. 

Who was he kidding, anyway? How was he even meant to fight a dragon when he couldn’t fight a damn...whatever the hell it was he just fought. He was a liability, after all. He was going to get himself killed and Ward killed and Jemma…

Jemma was going to get killed. Maybe his going after her would mess things up somehow and end up with her in more danger, but if he didn’t do anything she’d still end up dying and he wouldn’t even be able to say he'd tried. Maybe he’d fall apart when he saw the dragon and maybe he wouldn't but at least he knew, now, that in a crisis he could still help. 

If he’d been the one snatched and Jemma had been left behind she’d come after him even if it scared her. He owed her no less. 

Ward let him go when he stepped away. He retrieved Ward’s sword, avoiding looking at the creature, and brought it back to Ward. The other man was looking at him like he was considering just turning them both around and sending Leo back home. That wasn’t going to happen. 

“Come on,” Leo said, tugging at Ward’s arm. “Let’s get out of here. It’ll be easier then. Which way’s the road?” 

A slightly guilty look came over Ward’s face and he looked around as though he expected the path to materialise from a bush at the side of the road. That was when Fitz realised they were well and truly lost. 

***

Fitz couldn’t help but think that being lost in the forest somehow sounded more romantic in the stories. In the stories they’d have their horses and share a warm campfire and talk about the lady they were questing to save and about their love for her. Of course, they didn’t have their horses. Or any supplies. Or anything. Night had fallen about a hour ago and Fitz couldn't help but remember Ward saying how they’d be fine as long as they got out of the forest by nightfall (which had been a lie as it turned out but whatever). 

“Why can’t we stop and light a fire again?” he asked, reaching out to pull at Ward’s arm. He knew he was being petulant but he didn’t care. 

“You want monsters all over us?” Ward growled. “They’ll see the light.” 

“Yeah, but we’ll see them coming too,” Leo said. “And anything has to be better than stumbling around in the dark. I mean, honestly, we're as likely to die by tripping over roots as anything else right now. We don’t even know where we’re going. We could be heading further into the forest.” 

“We’re not,” Ward hissed, though really he had no way of knowing. Leo sighed and adjusted his grip on his knife. He hadn’t quite managed to put it away again since, well, everything. 

“I’m just saying,” he grumbled, moving in closer. The Forest was living up to its reputation a bit more in the dark and, well, you could forgive him for being a little cautious. 

“Wait,” Ward hissed, suddenly throwing his arm up to stop Fitz. “I see something. Over there, through the trees.” 

Fitz squinted and, after a second, spotted what Ward was pointing to. A swaying light in the distance, kind of like a lantern. Kind of like other people and safety and a way out of these trees. 

“See,” he said, poking at Ward’s back. “I knew it was safe to carry a light.” 

“I don’t think it’s a friendly light,” Ward said, and Fitz would bet anything he had a grim expression on his face. 

“What, you think it’s robbers?” 

“Or worse. There are creatures that use lights like that to lure travellers in. I’ve come across them before, we don’t want to end up fighting one in the night.” 

“But what if it is a traveller?” Leo asked, stepping around Ward. “I mean, what if they can help us. I’m not being funny but I think we need some help right now. We can’t stumble around the forest all night in the dark.” 

“It could lead you anywhere! It could lead you into a bog and trap you or anything.” 

“But if we know the risk we can be careful,” Leo reasoned, risking another step forward. “And it’s as good as wandering at random, anyway. Are you coming?” 

There was a second of hesitation before Ward said “Yes, I’m coming,” and they set off cautiously towards the light. 

***

“I love when I’m right,” Fitz gloated, leaning into Grant’s shoulder. Grant just grunted, he didn't want to acknowledge out loud what he could see. Fitz was already being insufferable enough. The light had started to resolve itself a while ago to reveal itself as a window. And as a lot further away than they’d thought but it was nice to have a direction of travel again. He wouldn’t have admitted it but it was possible he hadn’t been as sure about the direction they were going in as he’d let Fitz believe. 

He’d been a fool all around today, really. Right from the moment he woke up he’d been making decisions with his gut instead of his head. He shouldn’t have run off the path, he knew there were things out there that mimicked a human cry. He should have waited. He should have noticed which was he was running. He should have brought the damn horses. 

He hoped his horse had gotten back alright. He really liked that horse. 

He wasn’t entirely convinced that just because they’d found a house it was going to turn out well yet. Nothing else had today. He’d have been humiliated that he needed Fitz to save his life if the other man hadn’t been so torn up about it. He knew that, well, he looked on death a little differently to most people. He’d faced his own mortality often enough that he didn’t hurt when he thought he would die some day, though he would of course like to delay that. Before he’d come to this present job killing had been, well, maybe not ever an everyday occurrence but something he’d done often enough that he didn’t think about it. It didn’t frighten him. It had been almost strange to watch Fitz fall apart. Obviously the first time he’d killed something of that type himself which made the act of killing it even more brave. He could have thrown Grant’s sword to him, though that would have wasted vital seconds. 

He was kind of impressed with the guy, though he didn’t want to admit it. It was starting to look like Fitz had more to him than appearances might suggest. 

He still wasn’t sure how Fitz was going to fare when faced with a dragon but at least there was a chance now he’d cope with it. 

“I can’t wait to get there,” Fitz said, shoving at Grant’s arm again. He’d become oddly physical since he’d killed a monster. “I could eat almost anything right now.” 

“There are plenty of things you wouldn’t eat,” Grant replied. He knew he should be keeping the volume down but so long as Fitz was talking and not just complaining he didn’t mind it. Almost liked it. 

“Nope,” Fitz declared. “Nothing. I mean, actually, you’re probably right but I’d be much more tempted than usual to eat weird things. You know I went to a party at Stark Manor once and they served this weird sea-food, I’ve no idea how they got it so far inland but it was still in the shell and alive and you put lemon on it and swallowed it. It was disgusting.” 

“I’ve eaten that,” Grant said. “It's a delicacy in some parts of the world.” 

“Well, I don’t know about that but…” 

The rest of whatever Fitz was going to say was lost to a scream as a dragon dropped out of the sky.


	4. In which our heroes try to fight a dragon

Leo had imagined what a dragon might look like a million times before - from serious perusal of scientific articles to childhood daydreams of taming one and riding around on it. Nothing could have possibly prepared him for seeing one in person. It was big. So big he wasn’t even sure how to describe it, he had no sense of proportion or reference for this. The dragon was so black that he could grasp its dimensions only by looking at the vast areas of sky where he couldn’t see stars and by the glint of its scales in the moonlight. Its eyes glowed red as though they were lit with fire and its mouth gaped open, revealing a row of gleaming knife-like teeth. 

He nearly fell on his face and ended it all right then but Ward had a hand on his arm and was yanking him forwards before he could really process what was going on. The creature swooped above them but didn’t pick them up and that was good, at least. Probably the trees in the way though they were heading for the clearing around the house…

“Don’t you think we should stay under cover?” he shouted. Ward was a good guy and Leo trusted him a hell of a lot more now than he had before they started out, but he still sometimes seemed like the kind of guy who ran in the direction you shouldn’t go in a fight. 

“The trees won’t stop it for long,” Ward said. “We need to make it to the house.” 

“Is this the right dragon at least?” Leo asked. 

“Yes,” Ward said, and that at least was a relief. If it was here then they’d been heading in the right direction, though he wasn't sure it’d bring them closer to finding Jemma. 

They made the clearing as the creature shrieked, but soon it was clear it wasn’t going to be as easy as all that. It circled in before they could do more than break the tree line and crashed into the ground, sending out a shockwave that rattled the windows and sent Leo spiralling to the ground. He crawled backwards quickly into the bushes, yanking up his top and pulling out the pack he had stored there. 

He’d stashed most of his supplies on the horse, of course, but he’d wanted an emergency backup. The pouch didn’t contain enough to make a very big charge but he knew a little applied at just the right time in just the right spot could do the same job. 

At least he hoped that was true. He hadn’t had much time to test the theory. 

He glanced through the bushes to see the dragon taking swipes at Ward who was trying to force it away with his sword. Leo caught a flash of red on Ward’s face by the weak light from the window and he had to hope that meant the dragon was bleeding and not Ward. Now, after all this, the other man was NOT allowed to leave him alone here to fight a dragon. It just wasn’t acceptable. 

Not when he’d started to care about him. 

He could barely see what he was doing but it wasn’t a hard job in front of him, he’d measured the ingredients before they left for perfection. He mixed them now and shoved the wick into the container he’d packed before grabbing the match. His hands were shaking, he’d likely set the thing off any second even without fire at this point. That’d make a fitting epitaph - his brothers would laugh at that. Little Leo blew himself up fighting his first dragon. 

The match lit despite his fumblings. He held it to the wick and ran out into the clearing screaming. The dragon turned to him, giving him what might have been a quizzical look on a human face. He ran past Ward straight to the dragon’s belly. He’d applied a quick drying glue to the explosive and it did its job, holding fast to the dragon’s skin as he ran away again, heading for the tree line. Ward seemed to have taken a hint and was running in that direction too when the bomb triggered. 

It made a nice noise which was gratifying, and the dragon screeched like it had been hurt. Leo dared to stop and turn, hoping to see his handy work in action. 

Instead he’d turned just in time to see the dragon’s claws heading for him, to see the giant black foot as it circled his middle like it must have circled Jemma’s and the howling beast hurled him up into the sky. 

None of his childhood dreams of flying with a dragon had ever been anything like this. It was cold and fast and he was dangerously close to claws like butchers knives. He felt like he’d left all his important organs on the ground, like he was empty and nauseous and suddenly he realised this was the end. This was how he died. Hanging from the claws of a dragon in the air trying to save Jemma. 

At least he’d died doing something meaningful with his life. Or trying. Maybe Ward’d take the chance to get away. That’d be good. He’d liked Ward. And then they could come back with an army and have vengeance or something. He’d like to think that someone would avenge him. 

He watched Ward run out of the forest, knew him by the glint of the moon on his blade. A second later light was spilling out into the clearing, clearly the door thrown open. He hoped whoever lived in this place didn’t mind him making a mess of their garden, though it wasn’t like that was his fault. 

The claws began to loosen. It was going to drop him. A bloody dragon was going to drop him out of the sky. He didn’t know if this was going to be worse or better than being eaten. 

The person in the yard was yelling and waving but he couldn’t hear them up here. Instead he took a deep breath and clung to the leg. He wasn’t going to dropped without a fight. 

The dragon didn’t drop him. He waited for it to come but it just...didn’t. Instead its hold tightened a fraction again, became more secure, and they were descending. Slowly, like it meant to set him down and not bash his brains open, which wasn’t what he expected. As the went down he noticed the figure in the door was female and then he had to put all his concentration in to landing and not getting immediately squashed by the dragon. 

“Leo, oh goodness, it really is you, isn’t it?” 

“Jemma?” he said, spinning on the spot and promptly falling over, crashing into the ground so he ended up gaping up at her as she ran across the clearing from the house. 

“I thought I saw you but it all happened so quickly. What on earth are you doing here?” 

Leo could only gape. He’d imagined a million scenarios for their reunion over the last couple of days but none of them had involved him sprawled in the mud at some ungodly hour of the morning as she stood over him looking vaguely confused. 

“You were carried away by a dragon,” Ward said, luckily saving Leo the indignity of replying. “We thought we’d better come and save you.” 

“Oh yes, I suppose I was,” Jemma said, shifting on the spot. “Well, as you can see, I’m quite alright. Are you two alright?” 

Ward shrugged and Leo took the time to inventory himself. A little sore from the fall just then, a little scratched, but that all seemed insignificant in comparison to the larger fact that he’d nearly been killed by a dragon not too long ago. 

Thinking of, he looked over at the thing to find it had taken on an odd sheen. His chin dropped as he watched it slowly become transparent and then it was almost hard to look at as it shifted and in the space of thirty seconds it was gone, leaving a woman stood in the clearing, naked and clutching her stomach. 

The dragon was a damn shape shifter. 

“Oh dear,” Jemma said, taking a step towards the dragon woman but before she could go too far they were all stopped by Ward exclaiming “Melinda!” 

The woman looked up and, in Leo’s opinion, she looked just as damn scary now she wasn’t a dragon as she’d looked when she was a dragon. Maybe scarier. It was hard to hell. 

“Grant?” she said, taking a step forward and hissing as her foot touched the floor. Apparently scary dragon lady and Ward knew each other. Brilliant. Because life was apparently complicated like that.

“Look,” Jemma said, wringing her hands in front of her. “I think we’d better all get inside where it’s warm right now. Clearly we have a lot of talk about and we can’t do it out here.” 

Leo would have protested, but the dragon lady was already walking towards the cottage door and Jemma was turning to follow her, so there was really nothing to be done but hold out his hand and let Ward pull him to his feet. The shared a confused look for a moment and it made Leo feel better to know that even though Ward seemed to have a better grasp of the situation than him, well, he still didn’t know everything. 

It was a little strange to be able to see everyone again once they were in the cottage. It was small and simple but warm and that was more than he’d thought to ask for. He looked around to confirm that, yeah, Ward was kind of covered in blood. 

“Oh, look at you,” Jemma cried before he could, hurrying over to the hearth to grab a bowl of water. Ward lifted a hand to wipe at himself, clearly not quite aware of how much blood there was, and Leo stepped forward quickly to grab his hand. 

“What?” Ward asked, clearly tired and annoyed by all of this. 

“You’re a little bloody,” Leo said, reaching out to help Ward peel his jacket away. It was kind of a mess. Ward just rolled his eyes, reaching up obstinately to smear the blood around his face. Leo just sighed and stepped away to dump the jacket in a box by the door. They’d clean it later.

Jemma appeared again with a wet cloth and warm water and started dabbing at Ward’s face. He sighed in frustration and snatched the cloth away which, well, she was just trying to be nice to him. Leo didn’t know what’d got into him suddenly. 

“Hey, no need to be rude,” he said, stepping up behind Ward and poking him into a chair. Ward went with a skeptical look, allowing them both to check his head. 

“You know,” Ward grumbled “this blood isn’t mine.” 

“Better to be sure,” Jemma said, leafing through his hair. “After all, you were just fighting a dragon. You might have missed something in all the adrenaline.” 

“You won’t do anyone any good if you don’t take care of yourself too,” Leo added. He was pretty sure by now that Ward hadn’t hurt himself badly, but putting his hands in Ward’s hair was oddly addictive. He reached over and grabbed the cloth out of Ward’s hand and used it to mop the blood out of Ward’s hair. It wasn’t as bad as all that once he got close. 

“Can you not clean your own wounds now, Grant?” 

Leo looked up to see the dragon lady had come back down the stairs. She was dressed like a knight now which was kind of strange in a woman but Leo wasn’t going to say it wasn’t a good look for her. Mostly because it made her look kind of deadly and he didn’t want to get stabbed. 

“It’s your blood,” Ward said defensively, standing up and pulling free of Leo and Jemma. Leo shared a glance with her. He didn’t know what on earth was going on here and apparently she didn’t either. 

“Well, I see you two’ve met,” she said, stepping around the chair. Still, Melinda, this is my best friend Sir Leo Fitz and Leo, this is Melinda May.” 

“Pleased to meet you,” May said, though he wasn’t sure she meant it. Ward was still mostly looking uncomfortable. 

“How do you two know each other?” he asked looking between May and Ward. From the look Jemma gave him he guessed it had been impolite to ask but it wasn’t like she didn’t want to know too. Ward just flushed a little and looked away which was kind of attractive on him in an odd way but May rolled her eyes and answered. 

“We used to date.” 

“You used date a dragon?” 

“I didn’t know she could do that,” Ward said, crossing his arms defensively. 

“I’m a mage, not a dragon,” May interrupted. Clearly impatient with them all now. As far as Leo was concerned it didn’t matter if she was a woman who turned into a dragon or a dragon who turned into a woman, it all amounted to someone who could break him in half without much thought. 

“Melinda was sent to save me,” Jemma said, coming up behind him and laying a hand on his arm like she did when he was being particularly ridiculous about some living thing she’d smeared all over his lab that he didn’t like. 

“Maybe we’d better get the full story,” Ward said with a tired sigh, settling himself in a chair by the fire. Jemma nodded, moving to take the other side of the fire and Leo let himself slump into the chair Ward had previously used. He was probably entitled to a bit of slumping. He had just fought a dragon, even if it turned out not to be necessary. 

They were silent for a few minutes as Jemma tended the fire from her seat. Leo watched her. He hadn’t even really let himself think about the fact she might die over the last few days. He’d not have been able to drag himself through it all if he hadn’t entirely believed he’d see her again but, still, sitting there with her across from him and alive and looking well, even, was such a relief. She was going to be alright, and that’s all that mattered about this hell of a trip. 

“Well,” May started eventually. “I’m a mage, as you noticed. I’m currently employed by Lord Coulson. He sent me to remove Lady Simmons from a potentially dangerous situation.” 

“Oh please, we’re all friends here. Call me Jemma,” Jemma said, ignoring the incredulous looked traded that said they weren’t all friends here at all. 

“What was the dangerous situation?” Ward asked, shifting in his chair. 

“Apparently, Uncle Phil thinks Lord Loki might be a traitor,” Jemma said, eyes widening a little. Leo wasn’t so shocked. He’d never liked that guy. 

“Coulson’d been pursued by an assassin sent by Loki,” May said. “The danger from that situation’s passed now but Lord Coulson realised that with him out of the way Loki would try to control you. He can’t return just yet, Loki has magics and he has allies, we’re not strong enough to launch an assault on him, but we could remove Lady Simmons from danger.” 

“What do we do now, then?” Leo asked, looking around the room. Ward didn’t seem shocked that there was more going on here than a simple dragon kidnapping. He looked thoughtful, like some suspicion of his had been confirmed. 

“We can’t stay here,” he said, looking over at May. “I don’t think we’ve been pursued but I didn’t know to look for a tail so it’s possible, and if Loki really is trying to find Lady Simmons he’ll have sent someone to follow us.” 

“Agreed,” May said with a nod. “We were going to wait here until the danger had passed but that isn’t an option any more. I’m powerful but the transformation is very tiring and I can’t maintain it for over an hour. I’d rather we avoided any tail you have finding us at all. Lord Coulson is with Lord Stark, I suggest we had back that way. We can skirt the outside of his kingdom through the forest and head to his castle from the north.” 

Leo couldn’t think of any objection to that, especially if it kept Jemma safe.


	5. In which there’s no rest for the wicked

Leo wouldn’t say he really slept that night. Every time he closed his eyes he was back up in the air with the dragon’s claws loosening around him as she prepared to drop him again. It was kind of distracting. Kind of terrifying. He dozed a little. There were only two bedrooms in the cottage so of course they ended up split by gender. Another night in a too small bed with Ward. Somehow they got arranged so Ward was plastered along his back with his arms slung around Leo and, well, Leo didn’t exactly mind that. In another time, a world without Jemma, he was starting to think he might like that a lot. The thing was every time he drifted and Ward shifted the movement of an arm would remind him of the movement of the dragon’s foot around him and he’d jerk awake again. 

It hadn’t been a good night. 

He slipped out of the bed as the sun began to creep through the window. He clearly wasn’t going to sleep that night so why not. He was pretty pleased when he came into the kitchen to find Jemma curled up in a chair with a book. 

“Oh, hello,” she said, pushing herself up a little. “Could you not sleep either?” 

“Basically,” Leo agreed, going over to the fire and poking at the kettle. He needed a drink but, well, he’d never been in a position to do this before. There were servants for this, after all. Though brewing tea couldn’t be so different from chemistry, right?

“Here, let me,” Jemma said before he could set them all on fire, coming around and doing something. He’d have paid more attention if he wasn’t so damn tired but he just sat back into the nearest chair and reached out to grab a handful of Jemma’s skirts. It was so good to have her near and safe and real. He’d been a fool to not appreciate this more. 

“You know,” he said, blearily. “I’m sure being kidnapped by a dragon’s been a fine adventure for you but I’d really rather you left me out of it.” 

“I never asked you to come,” Jemma said, concentrating on the kettle. “You came to get me all on your own.” 

“Of course I did,” Leo scoffed. “I couldn’t let you get taken. That’s ridiculous.” 

“Ward came after me. He’d have coped on his own.” 

“But how would I have coped?” Leo said, aware that he was whining now. “How would I have coped sat there in your home waiting for you to come back? You weren’t meant to go away! You were meant to be safe and reliable.” 

“Oh Leo, I am,” Jemma said, running her fingers through his hair and he realised he’d leant forward to put his forehead on her hip. “I’m here for you whenever you need me, but I have to live my life too. I didn’t know I was going to be carried away by a dragon. I thought I’d be away for maybe a week.” 

“I just...I worry,” he grumbled. “I don’t want to lose you.” 

“Well, that’s ridiculous because you’re not going to,” she said, moving away to finish making the tea. He didn’t want tea any more. He wanted to finish this conversation. 

“You know I am going to lose you eventually,” he said. “You’re going to take over your Uncle’s estate and you’ll need someone by your side who has power and experience. I’m basically nobody. You’re going to move on and I’ll maybe be your odd friend who spends too much time in the lab, but that’s all.” 

“You are being silly,” she said, forcing a mug into his hands. “Do you think I want power? Or fame? I’m going to be there in the lab right with you. I should tell Uncle Phil to find someone else to give everything to, I don’t want it. I just want my house and my lab and you, Leo. Well, mostly just that.” 

“Will you marry me?” Leo asked, unable to think of anything else to say. 

“Well, not right now,” Jemma said, looking around. “But soon, if you like.” 

“Soon? So you will marry me?” 

“Of course,” Jemma said, throwing her hands up. “I thought that was always the plan. Who else is going to put up with me? Honestly, Leo, did you ever see me marrying anybody but you?” 

“I don’t know,” Leo flushed. “I just...I just wanted to be sure.” 

“And I am glad you asked before announcing it, I guess, but yes, it’s you I want. When all this is over we can get married if it’ll make you feel better. And you can move in properly and we can do those frog dissections again because I’ve been thinking…” 

“For goodness sake Jemma must you, they were disgusting enough the first time!” 

“Just because you don’t appreciate the beauty of the living form…” 

There was a loud cough behind them and Leo turned to see Ward stood in the door looking awkward. His pose made it quite clear that he’d overheard a good chunk of their conversation. Leo couldn’t bring himself to care. Ward could listen in if he wanted. For once it was good news. 

“Oh, good morning,” Jemma said brightly. “Let me get you a drink.” 

***

Jemma might, if questioned, have said she’d have expected the formalisation of an engagement between herself and Leo to make things different. It was one of the reason she’d put off saying anything for so long. Things had seemed fine as they were and what was the point of creating disturbance if you didn’t need to? 

She hadn’t realised that Leo wasn’t quite as secure in their arrangement as she was. That was a pretty good reason for a change. It had been wonderful to see him. She hadn’t doubted for a second that he’d send someone after but her knowing he’d come himself…

It wasn’t a bad feeling at all. 

In fact, really, the entire thing was going quite well. Of course there’d been the terrifying part in the beginning where a dragon had arrived to carry her away which she had to admit wasn’t a high point in her life. She wasn’t sure she’d ever be comfortable with heights again. Since then, though, she’d made a new friend, formalised her engagement and now she was going on an adventure. 

Alright, there were maybe a few more downsides than that. It didn’t help to dwell on the negative, though. She had to focus on what she could do! 

Right now that meant walking. She was wearing some of Melinda's clothes, a pair of trousers and a man’s shirt and she was feeling quite brave, really. She didn’t wear this kind of thing often. Sometimes when she was experimenting and none of the servants were around to look disapprovingly at her. Leo had never looked disapprovingly at her for wearing trousers, it was one of the reasons she loved him. 

She also had a bag of provisions strapped to her back and a knife at her side. She was less certain about the knife. She liked being out in the world but she’d much rather study it than stab it. And nothing too bad could happen out here, right? 

One of the things she liked a lot about the new setup was that Leo and Ward seemed to be getting on. She watched them as she walked. Melinda was already some way ahead and up in the trees, scouting the path for them. Ward was meant to take the rear but he’d gotten involved in some ridiculous debate with Leo about what had happened yesterday and if Leo had saved his life or not. 

It was good to see Leo engaging with someone other than her. Really showing an interest and forming a friendship. He wasn’t great at that and he’d seemed quite hostile to Ward before, so she was glad to see them getting on now. 

Of course, it left her walking alone at the back. Ward still didn’t seem to know how to talk to her, which was a bit of a problem, but at least he wasn’t going to leave now. She’d been worried for a while that Leo’s hostility might drive him away when really she’d grown quite fond of him in an odd way. Knowing he was there at least. It reminded her there was a world larger than her own back yard. 

A glinting at the side of the path caught her eye and she stopped to look at it. She had listened to all the dire warnings given to her so she didn’t lean in to touch it but crouched down instead, seeing if she could catch the glint again. After a second she spotted it, something small moving through the undergrowth. She watched as the glinting come slowly towards her, waiting patiently for whatever it was appear on the grass. 

When it finally did she realise it was a frog. No bigger than the size of her palm, it was completely silver. She’d never seen anything quite like it, not even preserved. 

“Oh, hello,” she whispered and to her surprise the frog stopped in its travels, looking around for the source of the voice. Its eyes seemed to land on her and it contemplated her for a second before taking a tentative hop in her direction. She knew a gesture of friendship when she saw one and knelt down, hand on the floor for it to approach. 

“Lady Simmons,” a sharp voice behind her said. She jerked her hand away on reflex just as the frog shot its horrible bright purple tongue out of its mouth. When its saliva touched the floor the ground began to sizzle. 

“Oh, now isn’t that fascinating?” she said, looking up at Ward. “Did you know it could do that?” 

“Yes,” Ward said, apparently puzzled by something. She shrugged and bent to examining the frog again from a new, safer distance. The saliva hadn’t boiled too much of the path away but she didn’t want to risk it on flesh. Not hers anyway. It might be interesting to watch it eat. 

“I wish I had some sample bottles,” she grumbled. “If I’d been able to pack for this trip properly it’d be a lot more convenient. I’m not sure why Uncle Phil wanted me carried off when if he’d asked politely I’d have gone anyway.” 

“There probably wasn’t time to ask,” Ward said, coming to crouch behind her. “We were on our way to Lord Loki when she took you.” 

“I suppose,” Jemma greed. The frog had apparently lost interest with them and turned in disgust back into the bushes. “It really is most inconvenient that I’m finally on an adventure and I don’t have any equipment.” 

“You really want to see the world?” he asked, and he sounded incredulous of that. She wasn’t sure why, she’d never made a secret of her desire to travel. 

“Yes, of course. I want to see everything. I have asked you to tell me before but you never seemed…” 

“I didn’t think you were serious,” Ward said, colouring a little. “I’ve not...I mostly take work where I’m hunting things or fighting. I’m only really here as a favour to your Uncle and whenever I’ve been around Ladies before, well, they’ve only asked me about my quests as a way to flirt and I thought you were engaged to Sir Fitz.” 

“Really, I’m sure you can call him Leo. And me Jemma. And are you telling me you’d have been alright with my flirting if I hadn’t been engaged?” 

Ward flushed and she couldn’t help but laugh at him. She wondered how a man like that hadn’t been eaten alive by Melinda when they’d dated.

“You know, if you treat me like a person and forget my title I think we’ll get on a lot better,” she said, finally standing and stretching. “I mean, I’m really not any different from the other people you know. I own more, maybe. I’m lucky, but I still prefer that people talk to me like I’m just another person.” 

“That wouldn’t be appropriate,” Ward said with a frown but she could see he was warming to the idea. 

“Then just for the time we’re travelling. It doesn’t matter if we’re proper out here, who’s going to know? For now can you just call me Jemma and treat me like a normal person.” 

“I suppose so,” Ward said, gruffle. “I suppose you should call me Grant, too.” 

She wasn’t sure she’d ever had his first name before and she grinned now. She said it a few times to try it out, it seemed like a good name. Solid, like he was. 

“I’m glad we had this talk,” she said, starting down the path again. “Now, come and tell me about your adventures, Grant.” 

“You know, when all of this is over if you’re so keen to see the world I could take you. I mean, not everywhere but there are places you can go that are pretty interesting and not too dangerous.” 

“Oh, that’d be wonderful,” Jemma exclaimed, clapping her hands. “And maybe if it’s not too dangerous we can convince Leo to come too! Wouldn’t that be wonderful?” 

“Yeah, it sounds pretty wonderful,” Grant agreed. 

***

“Wait, you’re calling him Grant now?” Leo asked. Jemma looked at him and blinked, obviously thrown by being disturbed mid-narrative but Leo felt it was important that his new fiance was apparently on first name basis with another man. 

“Of course I am, aren’t you? Didn’t you save his life?” 

“Well, yes, but that’s no reason to go around using a man’s given name.” 

“I’m sure he won’t mind,” Jemma said brightly. “He’s quite relaxed actually. Once you get talking to him. I feel like I’ve made progress.” 

She looked so damn happy, he couldn’t help a little jealousy twist in his gut. She was beautiful, after all. And Ward was the kind of man he’d always imagined her with. Someone who’d promised to take her on adventures instead of someone who got squeamish about her biological samples. 

“I just don’t think…” he started, trying to keep his voice low. He didn’t want anyone overhearing this, after all, and May and Ward weren’t too far down the path. They both looked oddly stilted and he thought it must be awkward to have to work with your ex-girlfriend. He’d almost wanted to go over there and save Ward if Ward and Jemma hadn’t apparently gained a special relationship. 

And, alright, he was self-aware enough to know that part of his problem was he wanted to be the one to use Ward’s first name. They’d bonded, they should be on first name terms by now. He wasn’t sure why he wanted that so badly. 

“Grant,” Jemma yelled, and Ward looked relieved as he stopped for a few seconds, letting May draw ahead as he came back to sand with them. 

“Do you need something?” he asked and Leo looked away quickly, refusing to meet his eye. 

“Leo told me you’re not on a first name basis yet which I think, given the circumstances, is quite ridiculous of you. Is that true?” 

“He hasn’t asked,” Ward said, and Leo glanced over to find he looked puzzled. “It’s not exactly...I do still work for you.” 

“Yes, but I’ve already said that doesn’t matter on this trip so from now on I think you two should be on a first name basis. Don’t you, Leo?” 

“Sure?” Leo said. Ward grunted. 

“Alright,” he said. “You can call me Grant, if you like. And...may I call you Leo?” 

“Of course,” Leo said. He glanced over long enough to see Jemma’s satisfied grin before trying to move the topic on to new applications for the magnetic technologies that were being developed in the west.


	6. An assassin appears

Overall, Grant had decided that life had it in for him. He’d not had a great childhood. His early adulthood had been spent working alone in incredibly dangerous situations trying to make a name for himself. He’d let a man he respected blackmail him into taking a job he didn’t want and he’d somehow ended up travelling through the forest with his ex and a pair of nobles who spoke in what might as well have been a foreign language most of the time. 

The worst part was that he was kind of enjoying it. 

He and Melinda...they’d been good together as far as it went. They’d had fun times, at least, and she was incredibly inventive in bed. The problem was that he’d wanted, well, he’d wanted something outside of what was basically an informal sexual arrangement. She hadn’t. They’d never really broken up as such - she’d just left to train and told him she expected him to find other people to sleep with. 

He hadn’t. He wouldn't say he’d been heartbroken. Disappointed, maybe. It was his reaction as much as anything that alerted him to the fact that what he’d felt for her might not be as close to love as he’d like it to be. 

Anyway, the point was being with her wasn’t as strained as he’d thought it might be. He’d kind of expected it to be a problem but she talked to him much as she always had and he found himself appreciating her sharp mind and her observations. He suspected that if he’d suggested they share a bed again for the trip she wouldn’t say no.

He didn’t want that, though. He didn’t want a casual easy thing. He wanted something lasting. He wanted to build real relationships. That’s why, secretly, he’d let Coulson talk him into this job. The idea of being in one place for a time and of building relationships hadn’t been unappealing. 

Of course he’d entirely failed at that until this little trip. And now, somehow, the people he’d connected with were Lord Fitz and Lady Simmons. Or Leo and Jemma, as he was apparently to call them. 

He still wasn’t sure he was comfortable with that but the way Jemma lit up when he used her given name was becoming something of an addiction of his. 

A lot of things about them were becoming a problem for him. It was strange how he’d shared living space with them for so long and was, somehow, only just coming to know them. Maybe he’d never let himself speak to them before. It hadn’t seemed right, but the more he did speak to them the more he liked them. Jemma was easy to love - strange and a little awkward but so eager to get out and see the world. Leo was more abrasive but Grant had seen beneath that now. He’d seen devotion and courage and the willingness to risk everything if it was the right thing to do. 

Not that he should be thinking any of this as they were engaged to be married to each other. He would have to value their friendship and nothing else - that was all. 

He was a master of denying himself the things he wanted. Better to stick with what you’re good at in life. It wasn’t as though he’d even really known them long enough to care, it was more a regret for what might have been. A shadow cast by something that had never even really been there. 

Besides they were friends for now, at least. It was better than nothing. 

Listening to Leo and Jemma banter about science should have been annoying. He followed very little of what they said, after all. It was kind of comforting though. Background noise to remind him he wasn’t alone and every so often they’d draw him in for an opinion which he tried his best to give. 

He should have known it was all going too well. Cursed life and all. It was almost easy to forget why they were there and just enjoy the moment. They’d even stopped to eat and it almost had the air of a picnic. Jemma had just handed him the loaf of bread (a kind of flat, oddly shaped thing but then Melinda had never been known for her cooking. She made her name other ways) when he became aware something was wrong. 

He’d like to say it was the finely tuned instinct of a warrior that told him danger was lurking but, in truth, it was Melinda suddenly freezing that drew his attention. She didn’t do that unless there was danger and he began scanning the tree line as the others continued chatting. 

Now he was aware that Melinda had noticed something it was easy to trace her eyeline and see what she’d seen. Only a shadow but a solid shadow lying where the shadows around it were broken by the light through the leaves of the trees. The implication that someone was perching in the tree right now. Melinda probably had eyes on whoever was up there but he didn’t need to confirm himself. Instead he moved to place himself between Jemma and whatever it was. 

Jemma gave him a quizzical look and was clearly about to say something about the way he’d moved into her space when Melinda said “run”. 

Grant didn’t need to be told twice. He grabbed Jemma’s arm and pulled her behind him, back towards the nearest tree line. He spun and followed her as she began to run, pausing a second to grab Leo’s arm and steer him too. The second was long enough for a shot to be fired though mostly by luck it missed doing any serious damage, grazing Grant’s arm. Leo gasped but he just kept them moving. Into the trees was good. They needed cover. 

Another shot rang out but this one didn’t come near them so must have been meant for Melinda. He didn’t know who this was but to achieve that kind of accuracy with a musket they must be good. Sure, musket technology had come a long way before Lord Stark got out of the business but they still weren’t easy weapons. Either their attacker was very lucky or very skilled. 

He wasn’t lucky enough for it not to be skill on their part. 

“You’re hurt,” Simmons said, slowing to fall back to his side. 

“Don’t stop,” he said, reaching out the hand that wasn’t still gripping Leo’s arm to push her forward. “We don’t know where the attacker is, we need to get some distance quickly.” 

“I just wanted a meal” Leo groaned. “Can we not even catch enough of a break for me to eat?” 

Ward didn’t reply, just kept his head down and focused on where they were going. He wasn’t going to get them lost in the damn forest again. Once was humiliating enough. 

He kept them moving until they found a small river. He wasn’t sure what the pursuer was using to find them. He hoped they were human. Humans were much easier to trick. 

“We should cross,” he said, glancing around. “If it’s something that tracks by scent it’ll make us harder to find.” 

“Remember we don’t want to lose Melinda,” Jemma said, wading gamely into the water. Leo looked more concerned but when he sawJemma going he cleared his throat and followed her, reaching out to grab her hand and wrapping his other hand around Ward’s arm so they crossed in a line, keeping each other upright. On the opposite bank he moved them a little way, far enough to shelter in some bushes. 

For a few seconds they all just sat there breathing. Jemma’s cheeks were flushed and he was beginning to think it actually was excitement she felt. The Lady was a little crazy but he was finding he liked that in her. Leo was just winded but he’d done well and Grant had to push down a surge of pride for him. It wasn’t necessary. 

“What was that?” Leo asked finally from where he’d collapsed. Ward signalled for him to be quiet but Leo just reached over to bat the signal away. “No, seriously, what’s going on”? 

“Leo, I think he wants us to keep it down in case anyone’s following us,” Jemma hissed, reaching across to poke at Leo’s leg. 

“Oh, why didn’t he just say?” Leo asked. Jemma rolled her eyes at him and Grant couldn’t help the small smile that crept over his face. Leo gave them both dirty looks and curled up further. 

The truth was, whatever had fired at them was probably human. The musket was the giveaway. Melinda had mentioned that an assassin had seen sent after them - there was a good chance they’d just been found and if that was the case, given the level of skill displayed, they were lucky that Jemma was still alive. 

He watched Jenna for a second. She was smiling, still, as though this were all part of some great adventure. She looked beautiful and wild and he didn’t want to think too much about that. 

The forest was quiet. Not unnaturally so but quiet. His heart rate returned to normal. He listened as Leo’s breathing evened out. After a while Jemma seemed to focus on them again and, without speaking, set to tending the wound on his arm. It really wasn’t bad but there was blood and you couldn’t be too careful so he let her take the time to bandage it as best she could. 

Leo turned away as Jemma worked but, after a few seconds, his hand crept over and took Grant’s and Grant didn’t know what to think about the hesitant curl of Leo’s fingers around his. Couldn’t ask when he’d been the one to impose silence in the first place. 

He managed to let her finish before he drew away but it was difficult. Knowing he wanted things but couldn’t have them was hard enough without those things being put right in front of him. Jemma’s hand on his arm and Leo’s fingers were just a little too familiar and as much as he’d like to just relax into them it was also something of a relief to draw away and slide out of the bushes. 

There was no sign that they’d been followed. He was careful, more so than he might have been with any other charge. He was willing to admit that at least. Finally he waved them out and Leo and Jemma came to stand behind him. 

“Can we talk?” Leo asked in a stage whisper. He turned to see Jemma rolling her eyes. 

“Yes, for now,” he said, scanning the tree line again. Still no sign of movement. 

“What exactly happened back there?” Leo asked, voice rising back to a normal level. 

“He was there with us, Leo,” Jemma said, exasperation in her tone. “How do you expect him to know any more than we do?” 

“He knew something was going to happen before we did,” Leo said, stepping in to tug at Ward’s sleeve as he said it. “What happened?” 

“There was someone in the trees, that’s all I know. Probably the assassin we feared was following us. It was the first time we’d been out in the open with Jemma and stationary for any length of time. They probably decided to try their luck. We were just luckier.” 

“Are you sure they’re not here now?” Leo asked, taking an uncertain step back towards Jemma. She was busying herself checking over what supplies they’d managed to bring with them and he felt an irrational surge of pride for her. 

“As sure as I can be,” he said with a shrug. “I presume Melinda delayed them.” 

“How’s Melinda going to find us?” Jemma asked, looking up from her survey of their equipment. “I mean, anything we do to tell her where we are will lead the assassin here, right?” 

“Yeah,” Grant said with a sigh. “We’re going to have to go on without her for a while. We’ll follow the river, it leaves the forest eventually and when we find the edge it’ll be easier not to get lost.” 

“That sounds like a good plan,” Jemma said with a smile. 

***

Leo’s feet were aching. He felt like he’d walked a million miles over the last few days and he’d give just about anything he owned now for a soft chair and a warm meal. He knew he was being a little melodramatic but he felt he was entitled to a little melodrama. It had been a long week. 

The worst thing was, he was the only one who was flagging. Jemma, alright, she’d only been walking one day. She'd made the first part of the journey by dragon which, alright, scary as anything but at least it was easy on the legs. Grant had been working as long as he was and it damaged Leo’s pride a little that the other man didn’t seem to be flagging. 

In fact, Grant was walking out in front with Jemma. They’d walked on through the river for a while for reasons only Grant seemed to know. Leo had managed not to pester him just because the other man looked so stressed. He knew his need to know and control everything wasn’t a plus when it came to stressful situations and he often hurt more than he helped, no matter what he intended to do. He did have some sense of how to handle himself socially, whatever his family seemed to think. 

He could even not be jealous when his fiance went off walking in front with another man. One who was taller and more well muscled and more adventurous. He knew it would be easy to be jealous but he wasn’t going to be, since he knew Jemma had agreed to marry him because she loved him. 

Also because he wasn’t entirely sure which one of them he was meant to be jealous of. Because, sure, he was jealous that Jemma was looking at Grant and smiling like that but he was also jealous that Grant was looking at Jemma with such concentration - the kind of way he’d been looking at Leo yesterday. He kind of wanted that back. 

He loved Jemma. He did. Loving Jemma was like breathing, he couldn’t imagine a world where he didn’t love Jemma. She was like the other half of his brain and he knew he’d fall to pieces completely without her. She was brilliant. 

The thing was, Grant was kind of growing on him in an odd way. He was a nice man to look at and Leo had always been as ready to appreciate perfection in the male form as in the female. His personality had some problems, sure, but whose didn’t? Leo knew he wasn’t perfect. He was doing this weird thing, though, where he was opening up to them. He was starting to talk to them more and it just…

Leo wanted him. He could admit it to himself, even if he couldn’t admit it out loud. He’d woken up this morning wrapped in Grant’s arms and he just...he wanted him. If Jemma wasn’t there…

Well, he didn’t want to even contemplate a world where Jemma wasn’t there. But if she wasn’t…

He was being an idiot and he knew it. It wasn’t like anything productive could come from thinking about this. He’d be better to just let it go. There was no point even thinking about it. He sighed and looked up at Grant and Jemma walking down the path ahead of him just in time to watch as Grant suddenly disappeared from view, his scream filling the air.


	7. In which Jemma and Leo prove their worth.

Leo was running before Grant had even stopped screaming, aching legs forgotten as he skidded to a stop a little way back from where Jemma stood. The path curved and Grant had stepped on what looked to be some firm earth so as to avoid following a curve in the path but as Leo got closer he saw that the earth Grant had presumed was safe was actually precarious, the bushes concealing the drop the path had meandered to avoid. They were torn apart now by Grant’s descent so Leo could see all the way down. 

It was quite a long way down. 

“Oh, goodness,” Jemma said in a strange, breathy voice. He turned to see she looked almost pale, her legs went out from under her a second later and she sat on the path. 

“Are you alright?” he asked, poking her shoulder and then scooting closer to the edge of the drop. It was disconcertingly quiet down there. He was almost afraid to look. Definitely afraid to get too close. While Jemma was shaking her head to clear it he dropped to his belly and squirmed forward so he could see down the incline. 

Grant was lying at the bottom. Leo couldn’t see as much as he’d like from up here but Grant's arm was an an angle that wasn’t entirely right. There wasn’t much blood though which was a good sign. If they could only get to him. 

“Grant,” Jemma called, shifting to lie beside Leo. He was glad she’d gotten herself together. He wasn’t terribly good at coping with things, he definitely wouldn't cope with that. He couldn’t do this without her. 

Grant didn’t move or reply and, yeah, that was a bad thing. Leo looked around. There was no way down from here but if they carried the path on it seemed to curve down and round. He couldn’t see it all but it moved in that direction and a path passed near where Ward was lying so it was probably theirs. 

“We need to follow the path,” he said, though it was apparently unnecessary as Jemma had already straightened up and was waiting for him. He scrambled to his feet and took her hand, gripping her as they walked. He hated this place, from now on he was going to keep physical contact with both Jemma and Grant until they were all out of here. 

He couldn't help but worry as they ran down the path. Grant hadn’t looked like he was bleeding out but Leo knew that didn’t mean a lot. Knew that he could well have internal bleeding or a bleed that they couldn't see. He could be going into shock as they ran and there was nothing they could do about it. He could already be dead and there was nothing they could do about it. 

He didn’t know what he was going to do if that had happened. 

“He’s going to be alright,” Jemma panted as she ran beside him, then she started to repeat it over and over like a mantra. Like she could make it true by willing it to be true. He wished she could too. 

In an unusual turn of luck the path actually lead where they wanted to go. He let go of Jemma’s hand when Grant was in sight, letting her draw ahead to drop down beside him. She’d always been better with messy biology than Leo, it was better to just let her work. 

“He’d breathing,” Jemma reported quickly. “And his pulse is strong. Elbow’s dislocated, I think.” 

Leo risked a look at the arm from closer up and then had to turn away. An arm should not bulge around the elbow like that. It made his stomach turn just to look at it and he looked away quickly, closing his eyes and drawing in big lungfuls of air. He was very glad Jemma was here as he certainly wouldn't want to do this alone.

“We should put it back in now,” Jemma said, moving around behind him. Leo didn’t want to look. He really did not do well with biology. “This is going to hurt a lot, better we do it for him while he can’t feel it.” 

“What do you mean we?” Leo asked, resolutely not turning around. “I’m not doing anything. You’re the one in this relationship who deals with biology.” 

“I can’t do it alone, Leo,” Jemma said, and he could hear the exasperation in her tone. “Now get over here and help. Grant needs this.” 

That shouldn’t have been such an effective motivational tool but she’d seemed to know it would be. Leo swallowed down the bile trying to make its way out of his stomach and, reluctantly, turned to help her. 

Thankfully, Jemma needed him mostly to press down to Grant’s chest as she dealt with the business of actually realigning the joint. He could just about deal with that. That was, he was doing just fine until Jemma actually pulled on Grant’s limb and the pain was enough that it finally woke Grant up, startling a scream out of him as he instinctually tried to pull his arm back towards himself and suddenly Leo was having to bear down with all his weight to stop Grant doing himself more damage as the man looked up at him, betrayal clear in his eyes before the pain obviously got too much again and he passed out. 

Lovely. 

“There,” Jemma murmured, and Leo turned to watch her stroke Grant’s hair gently. “I think that’s all I can do for now, though I do wish he hadn’t woken up.” 

“Don’t we need to put it in a sling or something?” Leo asked, moving to sit at Grant’s other side, as though if they surrounded him they could keep him safe. 

“When he wakes,” Jemma agreed. “I think it’s safe to say we’re not going anywhere until he’s awake again. I so wish we had something to numb the pain for him. He’s going to be terribly uncomfortable.” 

“There might be something around…” Leo started, glancing out into the trees. He knew there were herbs and roots that were meant to dull pain but he didn’t much like the thought of the three of them being separated any more. Not with Grant so vulnerable. 

“I know,” Jemma said, reaching out to take his hand reassuringly. “I don’t want to go out there alone either. I don’t want to be separated.” 

“I could go…” Leo said, trying for macho and failing. Jemma just snorted, squeezing his hand. He’d feel worse at being dismissed like that but he knew he didn’t have much hope of finding something he only vaguely knew about out in a dangerous forest alone. He just didn’t like the idea of Grant being in pain if he could help it. 

“It’s strange to see him so vulnerable,” Jemma said, stroking Grant’s hair again. “Normally he’s so...so strong. Seeing him like this...I’m not sure what to think.” 

“I don’t like it either,” Leo admitted. “I mean, I’m sure I can deal with anything that comes up but having him around is helpful in some ways.” 

“In a lot of ways, I should imagine,” Jemma snorted. 

“Hey, I fought a dragon for you,” Leo protested. Jemma smiled at him sweetly and he felt the anger that had started to rise in him drop down again just like that. 

“I know you did,” he said, taking her hand from Grant’s hair to reach over and stroke his face. “And thank you for that. I just want Grant awake too.” 

“Me too,” Leo said, looking down at him. He felt strange that neither of them were touching him, like he might disappear, so Leo reached down to run his fingers through Grant’s hair. Jemma watched and, after a few quiet moments, a thoughtful expression settled on her face. 

“I know that expression,” he said, trying to cut her off. “Whatever your idea is, I’m probably not going to like it.” 

“Oh no,” Jemma replied. “I rather think you will like this one. Now, first I should point out that we’re engaged and I fully intend to keep that promise with you. You’re not getting out of it this easily.” 

“I’m not sure I like where this is going…” Leo said, withdrawing both his hands. Jemma sighed but let him go.

“Look, I just can’t help but notice you’ve grown rather fond of Grant. Am I wrong?” 

“You’re not wrong,” Leo said, eyes going back to Grant’s face. He was fond of Grant. He hadn’t wanted to be but he was and he could always be honest with Jemma. She knew there was absolutely no chance he’d leave her for Grant, after all. 

“I’m fond of him too,” Jemma said, her tone low and conspiratorial. “I’ve been thinking. We’re both fond of him...maybe we should let him know how fond we are.” 

“What do you have in mind?” Leo asked, confused. She couldn't be suggesting what he thought she was suggesting. 

“I thought, if you don’t object, we might invite Grant to stay with us. As more than a guard. As a friend. And, well, maybe as a lover too eventually if that’s something you’d want.” 

She was suggesting what he’d thought she was suggesting. The rather vocal part of him that was jealous of what Ward had with Jemma was yelling at him that this was a terrible idea. He might as well just accept now that the wedding would never happen and Grant would take Jemma away from him. But another part, the part that had been growing steadily stronger over the last few days, seemed to think it was a brilliant idea. Seemed to think it was a risk worth taking because, after all, it wasn’t like he could deny he wanted Grant. And that part of him trusted Jemma. Trusted them both. 

“Think,” Jemma said, her voice soft. “You and I would be wonderful and I will marry you, but sometimes I think we’re almost too close. We get caught up in the silliest arguments and we’d never leave the laboratory. Ever. Grant...he’s so different but he seems to fit well with us. He’d stop us turning inwards to that little world where it’s just you and me, help us find perspective.” 

“He’d balance us,” Leo agreed, and he could see the logic in it. “You know, it’s not that I disagree, I think you’re right, but should you even be thinking about this when we haven’t even kissed?” 

“Oh Leo,” Jemma said, leaning over and kissing him softly on the cheek. “There’ll be plenty of time for that when we’re not in peril. I’m not suggesting we throw him down on the forest floor. I’m saying we let him in and see where it goes.” 

“We’ll have to talk to him about it,” Leo said, and Jemma grinned - sensing that she’d won.

“Yes, we will,” she agreed. “So we’d better make sure he’s well and he gets out of this forest safely.” 

“I agree,” Leo said, shifting in closer. “We can’t do anything else until Grant wakes up so, while we’re waiting, what DO you know about pain numbing herbs?” 

***

Grant Ward woke with a throbbing headache the likes of which he hadn’t had in years. He groaned and tried to roll but his arm was aching too, and his side, and generally he felt a little bit like he’d been fighting a dragon. 

Then he remembered that he had. 

He opened his eyes to the fading sunlight and the concerned faces of Jemma and Leo. As soon as they realised he was awake they both drew back a little, Jemma moving to his arm and Leo to cradle his head. 

“Don’t move too much,” Jemma said. “You’ve dislocated your elbow and I’m worried you’ve taken a blow to the head too, though I can’t see anything.” 

“That’ll be because his head’s so thick,” Leo teased, though there was obviously no heat behind it. Grant moved the arm Jemma wasn’t poking and brought it up to touch Leo’s hand in his hair. Leo stilled his movement, hesitating a second before lacing their fingers together. 

Things were becoming more and more coherent the longer he lay there and for a second he contemplated just drifting back into unconsciousness but the pain wouldn't let him. He was becoming aware of what a bad plan that would be anyway. The light was fading and they were out in the open. 

“You should have left me,” he said. “Gotten to safety.” 

Leo and Jemma both snorted and it was almost disorientating for a second to have them do the same thing. He must have looked confused as Leo squeezed his hand reassuringly. 

“Like there was a chance of us doing that,”Jemma said. Then she moved his arm and he had a hard time concentrating past the pain. This vision grew dark for a second and he was afraid he was about to pass out again but then slowly the darkness cleared. They were both looking at him with concern clear on their faces as Jemma fussed about arranging something around his arm. A sling, presumably. 

“I’m not going to be able to walk out of here easily,” Grant said, looking from one to the other. “You need to both go. You need to get to safety.” 

“Well, we’re not leaving you,” Jemma said, finishing up with whatever she was doing. 

“The way I see it,” Leo said, hand still stroking through his hair. “You have two options. You can try and fight with us about this and we waste precious time and energy on that or you can work with us and we get this over with as fast as we can.” 

“You should just go,” he tried one last time but he could tell from the way Jemma was rolling her eyes it wasn’t going to work. 

“We care about you, idiot,” Leo said, and Grant had to admit he was a little surprised that it was Leo who voiced the feelings. “And we’re going to have a nice long talk about that once we get somewhere safe but you need to work with us for that to happen.” 

“Yes, come on,” Jemma said before his head had quite gotten around the fact Leo thought they needed a long talk about feelings. He was going to object, but Leo already had a hand under his good arm pulling him to his feet and then the world was spinning and they were both there holding on until the world righted itself. 

“Come on,” Leo said, tugging him along gently. “Sooner we start the sooner we’ll be safe.” 

And, really, he couldn’t argue with that.


	8. In which the dreaded feelings talk happens

Jemma had been almost optimistic when they pulled Grant off the forest floor and started on their way. She’d sorted things out with Leo and that had gone better than she could have hoped. She’d expected a certain amount of resistance and jealousy from Leo but she supposed that, somewhere in there, he’d already worked through it. 

She’d managed to keep up her optimism even as they had to haul Grant to his feet and guide him out. After all, he’d had a bad accident and it was only natural that he would be in a little pain, right? 

The optimism didn’t last very long. It was possible that in her elation at Grant being awake she’d overlooked just how injured Grant was and just how far they had to go and just how much trouble they were going to have in moving him. He’d helped a little, of course, but there was only so much he could do when he was so injured. She and Leo ended up bearing the brunt of his weight, which slowed them down, and it really was a long trek just to get out of the forest. 

It stopped being an adventure very quickly, and settled into the monotony of dragging something as heavy as another person. It surprised her to find Leo accepting the hard work without complaint. She loved him dearly but he’d never been one to accept suffering with grace and poise. 

In the end they just managed to break the edge of the forest before night stopped them travelling, which on the one hand was wonderful as they were out of the forest and the immediate danger was passed, and on the other hand was less brilliant because they’d intended to be much further on and they emerged into an area of farmland with not even a shed in sight so they spent the night huddled together in the roots of a tree. 

Not that huddling in the roots of a tree was entirely bad. There was something nice about falling asleep with Leo and Grant, even under those circumstances. Of course, a feather bed would be better still, and she intended to achieve that some day soon. 

When they finally crawled out of their root nest in the morning Grant seemed to be more together - less controlled by the pain. He walked to the nearest town with almost no support at all and Leo managed to find a man who’d take them in his wagon. From where he dropped them they managed to hitch another lift and by the time the sun was setting they were walking through the door of Stark Manor. 

What followed was a bizarre hour where they were separated and washed and given a change of clothes and Jemma tried not to let it bother her that her boys were out of sight but she didn’t relax until she was shown into a study and they were sat there waiting for her. She’d have run over and hugged them both but they weren’t alone. Her Uncle Phil was sitting by the fire and she diverted immediately, crossing the room to hug him. 

“I’m so glad you're safe,” she said, leaning into him. She’d known, of course, that he was fine. People had told her and it wasn’t that she’d disbelieved them but it was an entire other thing to put her arms around him and to know that he was real and there. 

“I should be the one saying that,” he said. “I’m glad you’re safe.” 

She pulled back, about to tell him she’d never been in any real danger when surrounded by such good people, when the door opened again. It might be more accurate to say it was thrown open. Melinda stood in the door, looking as calm as anything, a red headed woman looking cautiously out from behind her. 

“Ah, looks like the band’s all here,” Lord Stark said, drawing Jemma’s focus to the other people in the room. Lord Stark was sat by the fire, a man in purple sat beside him only paying any of them the slightest attention as he read. A woman about Jemma’s age and dressed in men’s clothing was lounging by the fire, two tall blond men with solemn expressions stood by the door and a man with short blond hair beside her Uncle’s chair. 

“Nat,” the man behind her uncle said, nodding at the door. The woman behind Melinda nodded back. 

“I think we need some introductions,” her Uncle said, stepping back. “Those of you who don’t know should meet my niece, Jemma Simmons. Her companions are Leo Fitz and Grant Ward.” 

“Wait,” the guy in purple said, looking up from his book. “Are you the Fitz and Simmons who wrote the letter to the naturalists' society about the uses of hemlock?” 

“You’ve read our work?” Jemma asked, smiling. The man favoured her with a small smile of his own and reached out to shake her hand. 

“Doctor Banner.” the man introduced himself. 

“Doctor Banner has been working with Lord Stark,” her Uncle interjected and Jemma would protest but there’d be time for science talk later. “Our newest guests are Melinda May, who I hired to protect my niece and, I would guess, Natasha Romenov, who Lord Loki hired to murder my niece.” 

“I thought better of his orders,” Natasha said with a small smile. May didn’t comment and Jemma couldn’t help wonder what had gone on between the two of them to cause Natasha to give herself up. 

“By the door we have Captain Rogers and Lord Thor, the brother of Lord Loki.” 

“I can only apologize for the hurt my brother has caused,” the blond man with the longer hair said, and he couldn’t have looked more sorry if he’d done the damage myself. 

“We’re kind of a team now,” Lord Stark said, standing and stretching. “Phil here brought us together, so we’re going to go with him and fight Loki. Seems like a fun test for a few new inventions of mine.” 

“I’m grateful,” Uncle Phil said, though he looked dubious about that. “The two left are Clint Barton, who was sent to assassinate me, and made a different call, and Skye, my daughter.” 

“Wait?” Jemma said, turning to look at the other girl who had suddenly found a spot on the floor to be very interested in. “You don’t have a daughter.” 

“I didn’t know about Skye until recently,” Phil said with a shrug. “We’ve been hiding her from Loki. Though once this is over I’m going to declare her and make her my heir.” 

“Well, thank goodness,” Jemma exclaimed, and it took her a second to realise they were all giving her odd looks. “Oh, honestly. I never wanted to inherit all Uncle Phil’s land! I’m quite happy with what I have. And I have always wanted a cousin.” 

“Are you serious?” Skye asked, giving her the weirdest look of all, and Jemma could only shrug. She didn’t want money or land or power. What she had was more than enough for her and frankly losing the weight of expectation that came with more power would be lovely. 

“Of course I am,” she said with a smile. 

“I told you she would be,” Phil said, patting her on the back. “I’m sure you two’ll like each other when you get to know each other, though I’m afraid there’s no time for that now.” 

“No,” Lord Stark said, stealing the attention again. “We move out in the morning. The plan is that you, Lady Simmons, and your two companions stay here. Anyone else who’s willing can come with us to set this right.” 

“I can come,” Grant said, seemingly insulted by the implication he couldn't. Jemma just rolled her eyes. 

“You can do no such thing,” she said. “Your elbow was dislocated, you need to rest! Besides, someone has to stay here with me and Leo.” Grant gave in with a nod which was as sure a sign as any that he didn’t really want to go. She smiled in satisfactions - everything was finally coming together. 

She let the conversation sweep away from her then to talk of vengeance and war. Her part was obviously over and she let herself drift back to her boys. They were both clean at least, but clearly exhausted, and she couldn’t say the same wasn’t true of her. She waited for a break in the conversation and made their excuses, and it wasn’t long until she was provided with supper and night clothes and a warm feather bed. 

The bed might as well have been lead for all she could sleep. 

She tried to last, tossing and turning, but she knew it was hopeless. In the end there was only one thing for it and she sincerely hoped Leo had been thinking the same thing she had or she was about to be very embarrassed. She needn’t have worried, of course, as she she let herself into Grant’s room she found him propped up in bed with Leo sat beside him. 

“Oh, thank goodness,” she said, coming over quickly and claiming a corner of the bed for herself. 

“What are you doing in here?” Grant hissed. “You can’t be in here.” 

“Oh, relax,” she said, shifting closer. “Nobody’s going to check and I can’t sleep.” 

“Me neither,” Leo admitted with a shrug. “It just seems too anticlimatic in a way. Like, we came all this way and it’s over?” 

“I’m about ready for this part to be over,” Grant said, looking between them. “I mean, I like adventure as much as the next guy but I think I need a rest.”

“You definitely do,” Jemma said, looking at his arm. Someone else had been by to bandage it and it looked well done though she was itching to check the bindings herself. She didn’t want to risk him, after all. Not since she and Leo had come to their understanding. It was almost too much to believe that if they convinced Grant it was a good idea she could have everything she wanted. Life didn’t normally work out like that for her. Not that Grant’s reaction was in any way assured. She knew she’d pushed him a long way already, maybe this would be a push too far? 

She sat for a moment watching them. Grant looked tired but not unfocused. Leo was fussing over something like he did and Grant was trying not to smile and it was all just so perfect and domestic that she wanted to lean over and kiss them both and the thought that she might be so close and then not get it was more than she could bear. 

“We need to talk,” she blurted, immediately thinking better of her wording when she saw the looks on their faces. “A good talk. Or I hope a good talk anyway. It’s something Leo and I have talked about and…” 

“Do you really think this is the time for that?” Leo interrupted giving her a disapproving glance. 

“Well, I’m going to go mad if I don’t talk about it,” Jemma said, rolling her eyes. “And really, Leo, he’s dislocated his elbow, not his brain.” 

“Can you just tell me,” Grant said, looking between them suspiciously. “Telling me is definitely better than not at this point.” 

“Leo and I have been talking,” Jemma said, shifting forwards on the bed. ”About us and about you. I want to propose something a little unconventional, really. Well, we do. See, Leo and I love each other very much but sometimes it’s a little too much when there’s only the two of us. So we thought, if you’d like, we might try the three of us having a relationship.” 

“You mean you want me to stick around and be friends with you guys, right?” Grant asked, blinking at her, and Jemma blushed. Luckily Leo came to her aid before she had to explain. 

“Not really just a friend,” Leo said. “But more like, maybe, another boyfriend? We mean, if that’s something you’d be interested in.” 

“Oh, of course,” Jemma said quickly. “We’d never want to force you.” 

“I need to think about that,” Grant said, and that wasn’t a no so she smiled at him. 

“Of course, take as much time as you need,” she said, hoping he didn’t take too much time. 

“Yeah,” Leo said, his voice hesitant. “But can I ask a favour?” When Grant didn’t immediately say no he went on. “It’s a good time since any of us last really had a chance to rest and we’re all still awake and sat here though today was,quite frankly, exhausting. Do you think we can all three of us sleep in here tonight?” 

“That’s hardly proper,” Grant said, frowning, and Jemma couldn't help but laugh.

“Grant, I think we’ve just established Leo and I aren’t much concerned with what’s proper,” she said, shifting up the bed again. “Though with everyone else leaving tomorrow on a quest I doubt anyone will pay the least bit of attention to our sleeping habits. And it really will just be sleeping.” 

“Of course it will,” Grant said, as though he was shocked that she might imply there was something more. 

“So you agree?” Leo said, not waiting at see if Grant actually agreed before pulling back the covers and shifting under. When Leo didn’t immediately find himself tipped back out of bed Jemma moved, climbing in on the other side of Grant. Grant gave a long suffering sigh and let them both settle down on either side of him and, in no time at all, she was asleep. 

***

Grant had not had the best night’s sleep ever. It wasn’t that he wasn’t comfortable, because he was. Almost too comfortable. Leo had rolled away in the night, sprawling over the small amount of space left to him and throwing out his limbs. Jemma was still curled under his other arm, occasionally twitching but otherwise mostly unmoving. The two of them were all he’d been able to think about all night. 

He knew it was a ridiculous idea. Even if Leo and Jemma hadn’t realised it yet, they’d never manage to make something between the three of them work. Of course there was attraction there but how long would that hold up under the weight of societal disapproval? 

He could see it all ending messy with resentment and jealousy. He’d rather die than come between the two of them. There was precious little in the world he would die for but this was apparently it. He’d never met two people as well matched. But he could see what Jemma had said, the two of them would turn too far inwards. He could be good for them. 

He wanted to be good for them. He enjoyed their company. He wanted more of it. He wanted them to be together. He hadn’t let himself examine it too closely, had presumed it was nothing more than a dream, but now it’d been offered to him but couldn’t help but take it out of the box and turn it over in his hands. He liked the thought of a place to come back to. He liked the thought of people who were his. He liked the thought of being a central part of these two’s lives and as much as most of him was saying they’d never make it a little part was whispering that maybe they could. He was sure none of them would just give up if they decided to go for it. 

Could he walk away and never know what might have happened? What he could have had? 

He already knew the answer to that. 

Jemma was waking up beside him and he let her come out of her sleep slowly, lifting a hand to rub along her back as she did. She blinked at him sleepily and then smiled. 

“Oh, hello,” she said, leaning in to press a kiss to his cheek. “Did you sleep well?” 

“Yes,” he lied. It wouldn't do to have her think he’d been lying awake all night. 

“I’m glad,” she said, hugging him and then sitting up and reaching across to poke Leo. The other man grunted a little but eventually responded to the poking, rolling over to glare at them both. 

“I swear to god, Jemma,” he said, swatting at her hand. “There’d better be breakfast ready.” 

“I’m sure there is,” Jemma said lightly, leaning down to kiss Leo’s cheek just like she’d kissed Grant’s. Grant watched, expecting to feel a little jealousy but he didn’t. He just didn’t. Maybe they could make this work. 

“I’ve been thinking,” he said before he could stop himself. “About the talk we had last night.” 

“Oh,” Jemma said, turning to beam at him, and he should have known she’d be a morning person. 

“Yeah, I think we should try,” he said, reaching out to touch them both. It was strange, having this kind of discussion with both of them at the same time. “I mean, I’m not convinced it’ll work but I think we should try.” 

“Oh Grant, all we want is to try,” Jemma said, in obvious delight. “Come here, Leo. Quickly. We need to seal the decision with a kiss.” 

“A kiss between who?” Leo asked, still half asleep. Jemma just rolled her eyes. 

“A kiss between all three of us of course.” 

“Can we even do that?” Grant asked, curious. Leo was suddenly more away and grinning at him. 

“Well, let’s find out. For science.” 

“For science,” Jemma agreed, and how could he argue with that?

It turned out it was perfectly possible for three people to kiss each other’s lips at the same time, if a little awkward. Still, he had a feeling this kind of kissing was going to grow on him very quickly.


	9. Epilogue

Grant was seriously beginning to regret agreeing to be the best man. At the time it had seemed like the perfect way to incorporate him into the ceremony without making it obvious to those who didn’t know what he was to Jemma and Leo. Now it was mostly a mess. Guests were going to be arriving any day and neither the bride or groom seemed to be showing much interest in proceedings which left him to suddenly pretend to care about a million little details he didn’t actually care about. 

The third time someone sought him out for an opinion on a menu item he decided enough was enough. If Jemma and Leo could hide from it all so could he and since the lab was clearly a good place to hide he went there. 

It was pretty obvious why nobody bothered them in the lab. The place seemed dangerous just to be in with the surfaces covered in bottles of chemicals and the strange pieces of equipment lying around the Grant still couldn’t identify after all this time. Even the maids had given up on this room, leaving it to the scientists, so it was cluttered and messy except in the very specific clean spaces they used to do their actual work. He normally avoided coming in here but desperate times. 

“Grant!” Jemma exclaimed as he stepped in the door, looking up from her work. “Come over here, you absolutely must see this sample.” 

He doubted the sample was half as interesting as she thought but he’d learnt early on that what was really important wasn’t that he was interested but that he gave the impression of being interested and so provided someone who she could talk at. She had an insect of some kind caught in a jar that she was examining, one of several she’d collected the last time he took them out into the world if he remembered correctly, and he studied the little thing as she talked, hoping the nodding he was doing was in the right places. 

He liked it when they got out together. Things seemed easier on the road. Jemma opened up more, became more demonstrative with both of them once the weight of being Lady Simmons was gone from her. Leo swore he hated it but he came along every time anyway and every time they went out he was getting more curious. When they were outside the manor he could reach out and brush his hand through Jemma’s hair or kiss Leo and nobody would mind. Inside, well, the world knew about their relationship so it wasn’t as though he had to hide but there was propriety to uphold and it didn’t do to be so physically demonstrative. 

Though he supposed those rules didn’t apply in the lab since nobody came in here but them. Jemma had trailed off and returned to her studies so with that thought in mind he pushed off from the table and headed around to where Leo was fiddling with a complex clockwork mechanism. Whatever he was doing must not have been so engrossing as when Grant slid up behind him, his chest to Leo’s back, and brought his arms around the other man Leo just relaxed back into him. 

“You know,” Leo said, poking at the mechanism. “I don’t think, at this rate, that we’re going to have mechanical swans at the wedding after all.” 

“Oh don’t tell me you’re still working on that?” Jemma said, turning away from the little bug to look at them. Grant looked over and saw the predatory gleam in her eye when she noticed the position Grant had manouvered them into. “We’re having real swans,” she said, sliding off her chair and coming around to stand in front of them. 

“I don’t want real swans,” Leo protested, flailing his hand at his mechanical creation again. “Real swans are vicious beasts. Mechanical swans are definitely the way to go.” 

Grant leant down and bit lightly on Leo’s ear, effectively derailing any further conversation as Leo gasped and Jemma moved in to kiss him. As they kissed Grant moved down to press kisses into Leo’s neck, enjoying the feel of the other man pressing back against him. 

“Oh god,” Leo gasped, and Grant pulled back a little to see Jemma had stood back and was looking very pleased with herself. “Please remind me why we’re waiting for our wedding night?” 

“Tradition,” Jemma said, turning back to her bench. “And anyway, you only have a week to go.” 

“Only a week, she says,” Leo grumbled, and Grant laughed into his neck, leaving one last kiss there before letting go. 

“Got to give the lady what she wants,” he said, stepping away. It was, after all, the code he lived by. And it only made sense that they’d have their first time on their wedding night. There’d be time for all three of them later, he wasn’t marrying anyone and he didn’t really care about the entire wedding thing. Most of the people they knew were very progressive when it came to dealing with them but it helped to be traditional in some things so it helped to present Jemma and Leo as a married couple with him as their lover. It did. 

He couldn’t help feeling a little jealous about the entire thing, though. He’d thought he’d be able to be there with them for their first time until Jemma had started talking about wedding nights and he realised that wasn’t going to happen. 

“No, wait,” Leo said, reaching up and poking at his face. Grant batted the hand away but Leo didn’t seem deterred. “I know that frown. There’s something wrong.” 

“Do you really not want to wait?” Jemma asked, stepping back up to him quickly and he could fend of one of them but not both of them together. “Because if it’s really an issue we don’t HAVE to wait.” 

“It’s not an issue,” Grant insisted but Jemma was still prodding at him. 

“Clearly it is,” she said, frown firmly in place. “If it wasn’t we wouldn’t even be talking about this. I just thought it’d make things easier. With us being so unconventional it helps to stick to the rules where we can. Makes us seem less dangerous or some much nonsense. I mean, they’re going to be upset enough about the three of us going to bed together but maybe they’ll be less so if we go for the first time on our wedding night.” 

“Wait,” Grant said, blinking. “I’m going with you on your wedding night?” 

“Of course you are,” Leo said, rolling his eyes as though he didn’t understand how Grant could be so stupid. 

“You thought we’d leave you out,” Jemma said accusingly. “You do realise this wedding isn’t just about Leo and I, right? It’s been nearly a year, it’s about all three of us.” 

“All three of us?” he asked incredulously, because this was definitely something they hadn’t talked about before. He was almost glad to see some of the certainty drop out of Jemma and Leo’s faces. At least he wasn’t the only one confused now. 

“Yes,” Jemma confirmed slowly. “I mean, if you want that…” 

“We never really did talk about it, did we?” Leo said, blushing a little. “I guess Jemma and I just presumed but, well, we made you a ring too. If you want it.” 

They couldn’t have thrown him off quicker if they’d both stripped naked and turned into goblins. He could only blink as Leo went to his bench to retrieve the rings. Three of them nestled in a small wooden box. They were serious about it. They were serious about him. 

Of course he’d known they were. He’d not had any plans to leave them, of course. But it was something else entirely to find out they’d been thinking about marriage. Thinking about something so equal between them. They were both younger than him and both noble born - he was the son of a blacksmith who’d made a name for himself killing things. They shouldn't want him. 

But clearly they did want him. 

Jemma lent against his arm but didn’t say anything. He took the ring when Leo offered it and felt the weight of it in his palm. He’d never thought about marriage as something he’d be able to have, not since he fell ridiculously in love with two codependent scientists anyway. But now…

“I guess, since you made the ring and all,” he said, handing it back to Leo. “Thank you.” 

“You know, you normally say yes,” Jemma said, squeezing his hand. “If there was a way to involve you in the ceremony as a second groom we would but this is the best we can do.” 

“It’s more than enough,” Grant said, his throat suddenly thick. He still wasn’t convinced this was a good idea, that it’d work in the long run but the things they were offering him - family, stability, equal footing in their relationship. He wanted those things. Leo stepped close and he pulled them both into his arms, pressing a kiss first to Leo’s hair and then Jemma’s hair. 

“I’m guessing that’s a yes,” Leo said. 

“Which is good,” Jemma continued. “Since we’re both quite in love with you.” 

“Yes, and I love you both too.”

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Art: There Be Dragons Cover](https://archiveofourown.org/works/1660991) by [Zephre (zephrene)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/zephrene/pseuds/Zephre)




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